The Cleaners
by Alan Spencer
Summary: Emiya Shirou had wanted to be a hero for long, and he trained for most of his life for the sake of that dream. A unlucky chain of events at his old school sends him into Beacon Academy, giving the chance to make it come true. But nothing is at it seems. While that world might be dangerous, there's something more sinister hidden behind the normal texture of things.
1. Lines

**Chapter One**

Emiya Shirou sucked in a breath, trying to calm himself down. Nothing was wrong. He had prepared for since the fire, and now he was finally close to accomplishing his dream. To become a Huntsman. And not only that. He had skipped two years because... because that had happened. Everything was good. Great, even. He still couldn't really believe he had been drafted into Beacon so easily, but it had happened. He hadn't even got into Signal, though he had been aiming for that school. So of course it was kind of unbelievable. Almost unthinkable.

And yet, here he was. On his way to Beacon in a thin, big metal tomb that was too fast for his own comfort. Shirou wasn't no idiot, even though there had been plenty of people at his old school that thought differently. He knew the airship was as safe as it was ever going to be, and even if it broke for whatever reason, he was probably going to survive. Maybe not without a scratch on him, but he would be alive anyway. Yet it was useless. No matter how much he chewed on that on his head, every time he looked out of the window and into the clouds at eye level and below them, he felt an irrational sense of fear. Not sickness, just fear. He was taking pains to hide his discomfort because he didn't want his future companions to dismiss him out of hand but that didn't meant he wasn't feeling it.

It was probably because of that.

Yes, _that_.

But he didn't really want to think about it. To his adoptive father, it had been probably the happiest memory of his life, but he couldn't stand even thinking about it. There had been people who couldn't save others, and then there had been him, who couldn't save them. He saw many people disappearing meaninglessly while he alone, who had nothing, survived. So to him, it was only a reminder of own selfishness. He clenched his hands into fists, and tried to think about anything else. He couldn't possibly pass the initiation if he kept running himself ragged in his own thoughts before the examination even began. Calm. He had to be calm.

"...A protest against the discrimination of the Faunus turned violent when the White Fang, a previously peaceful group, appeared." Shirou gritted his teeth. He hated it; he hated that such an amount of people refused to accept the Faunus and wanted nothing more that to cast them out. They had fought alongside them, and, most importantly, were living beings just like them, and yet...

Of course, that they were discriminated didn't surprise him. Humans found reasons to hate each other based on their beliefs, gender, skin color and other such things so of course that there would be many more of them against humans which were part animal. He didn't like it all, but that's how humanity worked. He knew that well. Humans bleed, died, suffered and the majority didn't care. That was what the fire had taught him.

But that didn't matter, because he was going to change how things worked. But not change like the White Fang wanted. No, they were hurting other people for the sake of their own goals. Their mission was good, but their methods were horrible. An ending in which not everybody was happy wasn't acceptable for him. It was a simple as that.

The airship finally landed a few minutes later. Shirou let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Here. He was here, and the examination wouldn't be too far away. He was prepared for it. He hadn't been trained since birth, and his weapon wasn't anything special, but he was prepared. The teacher said that, the headmaster said that and the very fact that they were willing to having him here meant something. There was no reason to worry, to not believe in himself.

Telling himself that, he stood up and headed for the door. On his way, he looked around at his comrades, the people he would live with during his time at Beacon. There wasn't really anybody who looked remarkable, at first glance, for any reason or another. A blond boy darted past him, making choking noises. Oh. Well, that one was remarkable, that was for sure, but for all the wrong reasons. He followed behind the boy, and watched as he bend down and puked on a nearby trashcan.

"Do you need help?" Shirou asked, a bit hesitantly. He wanted nothing more that to help people, but some people could be offended by the very thought that they needed help. He had know some people like that before, back at his old academy. The blond boy looked up at him.

"No, no." he rather quickly answered. "I'm fine."

He didn't look fine at all; that much was obvious to him, and to anybody who looked at his face. He was a little green, and looked ready to puke again any second now.

"If you say so... But well, if you ever need help or just somebody to talk to, you can count of me. My name is Emiya..." he bit his lip. This wasn't Japan. "I meant, my name is Shirou Emiya."

"O-oh, I'm Jaune Arc. Thanks, dude. But don't worry. I don't need no help. Motion sickness is more common that you would realize, you know? And there's nothing else going on." That was... a rather suspicious denial, but well. He would let the boy go at his own pace. It would be better for the boy's peace of mind.

"Sure." Shirou replied, and turned away. "Well, see you at Beacon, Jaune."

"See ya." he replied, and a moment later puked again.

"Are... Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"No, no, I'm fine. You don't need to baby me, dude. We didn't even know each other a minute ago, so cut it off."

"Okay, Okay."

"Eh... Shirou, I didn't mean for it to sound so..."

"I know; don't worry. It doesn't brother me and, besides, I'm used to it."

"...See you later, Shirou."

"See you later, Jaune." he replied back, and walked away with a small smile on his face. He had helped that boy a little. It wasn't much, but it was something.

* * *

On his way to the academy, he saw a small girl laying down on the floor. She was dressed in a black blouse and skirt with red trimmings, and had a crimson cloak. She looked like the Little Red Riding Hood, in a way. More or less. She was looking up at the sky with an complicated expression, somewhat tired. That was all he needed to know to approach her. If she needed help, he would be there to give it. He didn't spare a second thought to possibly being late for the welcome ceremony; such things were only secondary, at best.

"Hey." he said, and held out his hand towards the girl. "What's going on?"

She took his hand, and he hauled her to her feet.

"A bad day, that's what going on." she sighed. "I hope it gets better."

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Maybe." she said, her hands on her waist. "Are you a lady killer? Because then you might convince this Weiss girl to stop yelling at me."

"Sorry." he said. Weiss. He knew that name, of course. The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. There was hardly anybody who hadn't heard that name. A corporation, a franchise. And quite possibly, a corrupt organization. Something he would have to take down once he completed his training as a Huntsman. "I'm afraid I've never been good at that kind of thing. Still, maybe I could do something about it. What's exactly the problem this girl has with you?"

"Uh... I tripped, knocked her luggage down, which were cases full of Dust and she started yelling at me. Then I sneezed, and stuff exploded, and, well, she got this look in her eye. You know, like she wanted to strangle me. She looked like... well, prim and proper, all lady like. Dressed in white."

"Okay." he nodded. "I see what I can do if I find her. So, just avoid her if you see her or something. Don't think she's gonna cause you trouble, too. She couldn't be that petty."

"I hope so." The girl-of his age, or maybe less- said, her arms crossed at her chest, looking down with a frown. A moment later, her face brightened and she almost jumped. She extended her hand towards him, a bright smile on her cute little face. "Oh, oh, sorry, I almost forgot. Name's Ruby Rose. What about you?"

"I'm Emi-Shirou Emiya." he said.

"Cool. And, hey, can I ask you something more?"

"Sure. What's is it?"

"I'm kind of lost." she sheepishly admitted. "My sister was supposed to show me around, but she just kind of ran off, so... I don't even know where I'm going."

"Okay, follow me." he answered, and started walking. There were no students in his view, so they were probably going to arrive a little late, but well, whatever.

"So..." Ruby said, after about a minute of silently walking. "I've got this."

Then she took out a mechanical scythe, that made a lot of noise and startled him. Just a little. Once he got past the initial impulse of going for his weapon, he could see that this girl's weapon, whatever the name might be, was a work of art. He couldn't have possibly made something like that. True to be told, he wasn't even decent at that kind of thing. The only reason he had managed to craft his own weapon was because of Structural Analysis, some knowledge about the process and, honestly, quite a bit of luck.

"Wow." he whistled; it seemed the only appropriate reaction. "That's awesome."

"And it only gets even more." she said, her pride clearly showing in the twinkle of her eyes. He felt himself smiling at that. "Because it's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle."

"..Wait, what? Seriously?"

"Seriously." she replied, frowning a bit. "Want to see it?"

"I don't think the faculty would appreciate you blowing something out in your first day. Something else aside from Grimm, anyway." he replied. "But is not like I don't believe it. Just... I mean, well, you got a sniper rifle on your scythe. I think you've gone a little bit overboard."

"Maybe." she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "So what have you got, Shirou?"

"I've..." he said, and took off his weapon. It was a mechanical sword. ", this."

"What does it do?"

"Apart for, you know, being a sword, it has got boosters here, on the side," he side, touching the sides of the sword above the handle. "to increase my mobility and, of course, attack power. I could give you a demonstration, but I think we will definitively be late if I do, so... let's save it for another time."

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

They soon got to the main hall. They were not late, but just barely. The headmaster -he knew that man was the headmaster, since he had came to see him after _that_ happened- and his secretary, or something, were already on the atrium. He remember the woman for a hologram at the airship. She had said her name was Glynda Goodwitch. When they came, Ruby got called by a blond woman, probably her sister, and they went their separate ways. He stayed at the back, with his back against a pillar and looked forward towards the atrium. It started soon enough.

"I kept this brief." headmaster Ozpin said into the microphone, and his voice echoed all over the room. "You have come here in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you're finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But when I look among you, all I see is wasted energy for lack of purpose, a direction."

Shirou gritted his teeth. Lack of purpose, direction. Like hell. He knew it was only a talk to psych them up, but it still bothered him. It bothered him a lot.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but it your time at this school you will come to know that knowledge will only get you so far. It's up to you to take the first step." Shirou noticed then, that, for some reason, the headmaster had been looking directly at Ruby when he said that. Uh. Well, he could ask her later about it, or something. The headmaster turned, and started walking away. The woman stepped up.

"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You can go now."


	2. Deep Into The Darkness Peering

**Chapter Two**

When Emiya Shirou stepped into the ballroom, after changing into his pajamas, the first thing that went through this mind was that this seemed like one big slumber party. Not that he had ever got to one, anyway, so he couldn't really compare. He put his futon on the first empty place, and laid down, staring at the ceiling. He had see Ruby, along with her big sister nearby, but he hadn't feel like approaching her.

What came and went through his mind were distant memories, the memories of the fire. He pushed that away and tried to think about tomorrow's initiation, what would happen and if he could do it, if he could really do it. It wasn't like he wasn't confident in his skills, but he had his doubts, yes. It was only natural. All his fighting experience until now was only sparing and practice, not actually fighting the Grimm. He hadn't even actually seen one yet, and now he was probably expected to fight them. He knew the theory, of course. The weak points, the do's and don'ts, but as the headmaster had said, knowledge could only get you so far. What truly mattered was experience. He clenched his hands into fists.

He would do it.

Failing wasn't an option.

The person that had saved him, a boy who had nothing, and was even emptier that him died content because he had promised him he would be a hero on his place. And the first step towards his dream was getting into Beacon, becoming a Huntsman. So he had to do it. There was no way he could fail here.

A moment later, he heard something like strangling noises. He stood up in a hurry, looking around, thinking somebody needed his help. Soon, he found that it was nothing serious. Ruby's sister was dragging her towards a girl with black pajamas, sitting against the wall and reading a book. It was... strange. The poor little Red Riding Hood was making those noises, and looked nervous and absolutely mortified. For a moment, he wondered if he should go there and drag her away. But no. That would be stupid.

He let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding, laid back down and listened carefully to Ruby and the other two girls. There wasn't much noise, so listening was easy. It was only small talk. Well, on Ruby and her sister Yang's part, anyway. The other one-whose name was Blake- only tried to push them away. Ruby was quite funny, actually. He had to use reinforcement to heard her comments to her sister, but it was worth it. He would have laughed on laugh if people weren't trying to sleep and if that wouldn't have given him away immediately.

"...Stories of heroes, and monsters. That's one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress." Ruby said. That caught his attention.

"And why is that?" Blake asked. "Do you hope to live happily ever after?"

"I hope we all will. " Ruby answered. Shirou felt himself smiling at that; the more he heard about that girl, the more he liked her. "As a girl I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and would protect the people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's... very ambitious for a child." she answered. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

Shirou frowned. So what of it? If it wasn't...

"Well, that's why we are here." Ruby said; he could almost see the smile on her face. Yes, that was right. That's why they were here. To change the world, to grasp an ending where everybody would be happy. To become heroes who could save everybody. "To make it better."

He found himself tuning out the rest of the conversation, and closed his eyes. That girl was good people. It was good to know that there were people like that here at Beacon.

* * *

They were made to gather on a hill, and to sit over some kind of plaques. He had suspicious about what was for, exactly, but he didn't say anything. He just stayed firm, looking forward and listened to the headmaster giving another one of his speeches. Jaune was at his left side, and Ruby on his right. He noticed Jaune seemed better that yesterday. Not much, but somewhat better. At least, he didn't look like he could fall over at any second. That was a relief.

"You've been training for this for most of your life, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now," Glynda said. "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams."

 _Talk about an understatement_ , he thought. At his old academy, he had heard many, many things about that exactly. Most of the stories were wildly different, and mutually exclusive.

"Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Headmaster Ozpin continued. "So is in your best interest to be paired with somebody who you can worth well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

That was a strange way of assigning teammates but well, whatever. Not like complaining would change it.

"What?" Ruby screamed.

"After you've partnered up," Ozpin continued, like he hadn't heard Ruby. ", make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must chose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing, and you will be graded appropriately."

"Are there any questions?"

"Yeah. Uh, sir..." Jaune muttered nervously.

"Good!" Ozpin cut him off. "Now everyone, take your positions."

"Sir?" Jaune tried again. "I've got a question. So this landing strategy thing... what is it? You be dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling."

"Ah, I see. So, will you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."

Ruby turned to him, gave him a small smile and then her plaque active her, launching her into the air. He watched her go until she disappeared from his view. His own plaque activated at more or less that moment. It was not problem. What he feared was not the height itself, but the feeling of not being in control of his own fate. Here and now, though, it was different.

He used the boosters of the sword to propel himself forward. He could have continued for a while, but he didn't. He landed a bit ahead of where he saw Ruby landing. If he had to be on a team, he wanted to be in whatever team she ended up in. It would be a good experience; that was clear to him, based on everything he heard her saying. When he got close enough, he stabbed the sword through one of the trees, stopping the fall in its tracks. He took it out of the three, and jumped down, landing in a crouch. Clenching his sword tightly in his right hand, he looked around. No Grimm in sign.

He turned around, and ran, hoping to find Ruby or for Ruby to find him. He didn't really care who did it, so as long as it happened. He ran into her not long after. She hurriedly stopped in her tracks, almost fell and straightened herself. Then they made eye contact. Good. He couldn't have been sure she wouldn't run into Weiss first, since she had landed not too far for her, but it hadn't happened. Her face brightened.

"Oh, Shirou! This is good. I thought I would be stuck with somebody I didn't know, but I won't be."

"Well... I'm glad, too, Ruby." now that he thought about it, it seemed like she didn't realize that he had done it on purpose. "I wanted to be in whatever team you ended up, you know, so I sought you up."

"Really? What, did I make a good impression?"

"Yes." he curtly answered. She had asked that jokingly, but it was the truth. Ruby Rose had made a real good impression of him. At to add, his words made him think she was similar to him, in an way.

"...I don't know what I expected, but I wasn' that." she muttered, lightly blushing.

"We're of the same age." Shirou said, and shrugged. "We've to stick together, right?"

"Seriously? I thought... I mean, you're so tall that I assumed you were older that me. Like everybody else."

"Well, believe me. I'm not older that you."

"Okay." she said, nodding energetically. "Ah, it's nice to chat at all, but we have to go and find the relics."

"Yeah, let's go."

They started walking at steady pace, towards the northern end of the forest.

"What's the hurry, Shirou?" she asked, having fallen a bit behind.

"We're being graded." he answered, cutting a branch with his sword. "I can't image being slow it's gonna get us a good grade."

In a whirl of rose petals, she suddenly appeared in front of him. He didn't want to admit it, but that almost made him jump.

"Okay, you're really fast."

"That's right. I don't know how to dealt with people, but I haven't gotten here two years earlier out of coincidence. I know how to dealt with monsters."

"Good to know." Shirou said, and froze. He could felt it. The shadows grew larger around them. Somewhere behind them, a branch cracked. He could heard the heavy breathing of beasts, of the Grimm, because of reinforcement. Right in front of him, several red eyes shined in the darkness. He gritted his teeth, and got back into stance. "Be careful. They're all around us."

One of the creatures stepped out of the woods. An Ursa. He had see many drawings and such of it, but this was the first time he saw one of them in the flesh. It looked as menacing as he had imagined, but no, he couldn't falter here. These beasts were the lowest of the low as far as Grimm were concerned. If he fell here, he couldn't never become an Ally of Justice. The beast roared.

"You..." the words died on his lips. Ruby had already vanished in a whirl on rose petals, and was engaging the enemy. Oh, well. He activated the boosters of the sword, lifting himself in to the air. The force of it threw a Grimm that was behind him to the ground. He raised his legs, and slammed his feet against the torso of a Beowolf nearing at Ruby with all the streght he had, doubled by his speed. The force of the impact threw the creature back into the darkness of the forest.

He landed, ducked beneath the attack of one of the creatures and quickly took its head off with his sword. This... this was not so bad, after all. He could do this easily. There were a lot of them, but it wasn't any trouble. What happened back them had shook him more that he expected, but this was teaching that while it wouldn't be easy by any means, he was prepared for what was to come. He felt himself smiling.

Ruby and him made short work of the creatures. She was a bit too impulse, but he could compensate for that. It was clear that Ruby had been the right choice for him, in more ways that one. They fought together like they had been doing so for years; the Grimm only lasted a few minutes. He had to admit that it had been really satisfying. Ruby turned to him, a bright smile on her face and held out her open palm towards him. It took him a moment to realize what she wanted. With a smile, he gave her a high five.

"We make a great pair." Ruby said.

"Yeah. We do."

* * *

They could have celebrated more, but they had to kept on going. They advanced through the forest at a better pace that before, reinvigorated by their success and even more excited for what was to come. On the way to the north, when he thought they were close enough, together they climbing a hilltop to overlook the distance and see if the temple was close enough. There. He could see it there, barely, a muddy grain in the horizon.

"It's close." Shirou said. "Let's go, Ruby."

An animal roar. He turned around, his sword at the ready, but it was already too late. The thing hit his body with the force of a train, flinging his body like a rag doll into the air. He let out a scream.

"Shirou?"

All the way down. He hit the ground hard. Without Aura, he would probably have died for the first hit alone, so he couldn't have possibly survived the fall. But with Aura, he was only feeling like shit. The wonders of still not really explained magic. He grunted, and forced himself to his feet.

A Nevermore; it was a Nevermore. He should have expected it, all things considered, but damn. Talk about bad luck. His Aura must have been at the breaking point, if not depleted already, and recharging took quite an amount of time. Time he didn't have. He stood up, lost his balance, almost fell and somehow managed to straightened himself. Ruby suddenly appeared in front of him, looking terrified. Not for herself, but for him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"I'm fine. You got more important things to worry about... _That_ thing."

"I've got an idea."

"What?"

"Let's ride it."

"...Come again?" he couldn't have possibly heard that right. But he knew he had. He had his hearing reinforced, so there was no chance of a mistake.

"Let's grab it's feathers and hitch a ride on it."

"No fucking way."

"Oh, come on."

"No way. Just... run like hell." he said, turned and ran for it. Ruby followed him. He head into the forest. Due to the creature's large size, it would be hard for it to follow them. Taking advantage of the creature's lost of speed to make their counter attack. He hoped Ruby would understand that, and not do something reckless. He heard the sound of tearing, ripping and things hitting the ground behind him. He knew what those sounds mean, but he tried to not think about it. He tried not to think about what that thing would do this body, who was unprotected by Aura.

"Okay. What do we do now?" Ruby said.

He turned to watch her. The Nevermore was fast approaching, knocking down the threes of it's way. It was almost upon them. She wasn't going to make it. He didn't know why he knew, but she was clearly not going to make them. That teleport skill of hers had a limit of sorts, and she couldn't use it right now. He grabbed her by the shoulder, and threw her away. And then he took the blow of the Nevermore right on.

He heard several of his bones crack; some of his Aura had recovered, but it wasn't enough to mitigate the impact much. He miserably flew away with the speed of a bullet, hit the ground and his fall stopped only when his back hit a tree. His sword went flying out of his grip. He gasped, and spat out blood. The roar of the Nevermore resounded in the distance. He tried to stand up, but even all the streght he could muster couldn't make him move. Damn. He was finished. Ruby appeared in front of him. She knelled, and took his face in her hands, crying.

"Stand up." she said. The vague blur of her face swayed in front of his eyes. "Stand up, Shirou. You can't... not again, god, not again..."

He raised a trembling hand to her cheek.

"It's okay. It's over for me, but you can..." he coughed, coughed, and blood flew from his mouth. A lung. Or maybe both. He didn't know. Everything seemed so far away from him right now.

"Don't say that. How can you say that?" she held her head down. "Please, please, don't leave me... Don't leave me like mother did."

That made him freeze, for a moment. But he was finished. It wasn't a matter of wanting or not. He didn't have anymore streght left in his body. He looked down at his body. Blood, so much blood. Deep red blood. Like... Like roses. He laughed, laughed, laughed.

"I'm sorry, but run." he muttered, out of breath. Everything was painful; even breathing. But he had to said this. "If you stay here you're only going to die."

"No."

"Ruby..."

"W-why did you come here to Beacon? Why did you train so hard if you're only going to give up now? Why?"

"Why? Because..." there had been people who couldn't save others, and then there had been him who couldn't save them. He swore to never let such a thing happened again, seeing the people that meaninglessly disappeared. "Because I wanted to become a hero. To save everybody."

The Nevermore roared.

"Then stand up. We can still make it, okay? Just grab on to me. I support you. I do anything, but don't leave me . Please, don't leave me. You can't let the Grimm win. Right? Right?! We have to protect this world!"

"Yeah. That's right..." Shirou muttered, feeling numb. "They can't win... They can't, because I... I was born into this world!"

He poured determination through his dying body. He swallowed the blood clotting in his throat, and screaming in challenge and pain, forced himself to his feet. Ruby tried to stop him. He lightly pushed her away, and he extended his arm. He was staring at a place far away, infinity in distance and unbound by death. The echoes of clashing swords resounded in his head. There was only one single image coming and going through his mind. His body screamed, but he released the energy inside of him and gave it shape.

An instant later, a scythe was in his hand, - is body was at last. It is...

 _the weight I must carry to light up the darkness_

"Crescent Rose?!" Ruby screamed, surprised. The sound of her voice seemed a world away.

"I'm the bone of my sword." words came out of his mouth without him realizing it.

He straightened his faltering body, and got back into stance, staring directly at the Nevermore flying down towards them, it's jaw opened as if to shallow them.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Don't expect another update for several weeks.


	3. From Out That Shadow

**Chapter Three**

A roar ripped his way free of Emiya Shirou's throat. He barely had any of conscious left, and every step felt like he was breaking down, but he knew enough. There was something important he had to protect. A life. That was enough for the boy to gather whatever streght he had in his dying body, and propel himself forward.

The scythe in his hands guided his movements, and he followed. It forced him to move at speed's beyond his limits, which tore up his body from the inside, to try to compensate for not having Ruby's Semblance. Naturally. Magic beyond his limits could only end in his death, but if that was the worst of it, he didn't care. As long as he fell when the enemy in front of it was finished, he would die content. What mattered was no he himself but the things he had to protect.

He jumped above the head of the charging Nevermore and slammed the scythe down on the back of its head. The momentum did the rest, knocking it down on the ground. He landed in a crouch in front of the fallen Nevermore, who was already getting up. Only natural. It had only stunned in for a few seconds and made it lost its balance. The attack didn't actually hurt him. But such thoughts didn't not fill his head. The only thing in his head was that this would be the final blow. He drove the scythe against the mask like thing in his face, putting his weight and all his remaining strenght into the blow.

Crescent Rose shattered in front of his own eyes.

With that, all the streght left his body. No, it hadn't never been there to begin with. He knew that. That streght was not his own but Ruby's streght, the techniques she had perfected with years of training. The scythe had carried that because of its story, but it hadn't been enough to change things. Because it had been imperfect, a flawed imitation. Even an illusion would become a disillusion and shatter if it was improperly made. But not only that. Even if he managed to replicate the weapon perfectly, he didn't have the speed Ruby's Semblance granted her. That was the key to her fighting style, and the only thing he couldn't truly replicate. He had to...

He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, another one around his waist and felt Ruby's body against his own. That cut off his train of thought. Their bodies vanished and they appeared about ten meters away at instant later. He staggered, but Ruby managed to kept him on his feet. Oh. She had more streght that he thought.

"Shirou, come on. Work with me. You're... You're going to be okay. Come on." Ruby tried to encourage him, while dragging him forward. "The wound... the wound is really bad, yeah, but we let your Aura recharge and you heal in no time. You're not going to die. I make sure of it, so don't give up. Please, don't give up."

He sucked in a breath, drawing enough oxygen to allow him to move. He could do this. She was counting on him, so he couldn't fall down. But besides that, he couldn't allow himself to die at miserable dead here and now, when still he hadn't accomplished anything. A hero. He had to become a hero. The person who saved him died, leaving in those words. So it had to come true. He believed with all his heart the wish contained in those words.

It hurt, but it was only pain. He didn't even want to think about what condition is body was in, but as long as he could still move he had to move forward. He tried to move so he wouldn't slow down Ruby, but he didn't think he could kept this much longer. Every fifteen meters or so she used her incredible speed to move them ten meters ahead in an instant, and still the Nevermore was closing on them fast. And besides, no place in this whole forest could be safe for them. If they ran into Ruby's sister they could be okay, yeah, but nobody else had reason to help them. He never had any reason to help anybody beyond wanting to help them, but the majority of people weren't like that. He knew that.

So he was seeing where things would end.

If that came to be, despite of his resolve to survive, he knew he would rather throw himself into the jaws of the Nevermore that allow himself to be the cause of that beast hurting Ruby... or worse.

"We can't kept this up much longer." Ruby said, but her tone, even though it was clear she had been crying, was even. She was holding back her emotions so she could be strong for him. It wasn't supposed to be that way. He was supposed to be one of the people that gave streght to others, that saved them, not the one who needed saving. "Hold on tight."

Before it could cross his mind to ask her why, he held on to her tighter, like his life depended on it. The Nevermore roared again, in triumph. It had caught up to them. It was over. He had to push Ruby away so he alone would die. But he didn't even get the chance to try. She used her Semblance once more, just before the Nevermore would sink it's claws into them, and dragged him with her to the top of the beast's back. Ruby laid down, taking him with her, and grabbed the thing's feathers.

"Shirou..."

"I know!" he screamed, and he held to the creature's feathers as it rose to the sky, roaring in irritation.

The wind pressure soon forced him to half-close his eyes. He held on the thing for dear life as if shook, spun and twirled in the air, trying to throw them off. He felt an immense pain in his stomach with every of the creature's movements, but he somehow managed to hold on. Ruby, of course, was managing it too. He focused a bit in breathing properly and resting his body.

"What do we do now?!" he screamed, trying to make himself heard over the roar of the wind. Certainly, this was safer that running away from that thing, but they couldn't kept this up indefinitely and, besides, they had to complete the examination.

"Leave it to me." Ruby said. Somewhat surprised, he looked towards her and saw as she stood up, Crescent Rose clenched tightly in her left hand. She advanced carefully, in a crouch, her red cloak billowing behind her.

"Wait! What are you...?!"

"I say leave it to me!"

"Its dangerous!"

"So what of it?! If I don't do it you're going to die!"

He felt the pain of his bone healing, and whatever he was about to scream in response died in his lips. He grimaced, trying not to scream. This was good. Is Aura had grow back enough to start healing him, so soon enough he would be in fighting condition again. He just had to bear it for a little while. But... he knew he wouldn't heal in time to be of use to Ruby. He looked up at her figure, as she carefully advance through the Nevermore's back, gripped its feathers with her free hand when the creature started moving violently to shake her off. She soon got close to its head, and swung down Crescent Rose against it. The creature roared again, but not out of pain. It didn't seem like the blow had damaged it, either.

The Nevermore dived down suddenly, nearly throwing Ruby off. She stabbed Crescent Rose into the creature's back before that could happen. It barely managed to penetrate the skin, but it was enough to hold her there. She grabbed the feathers with her right hand, lifted her weapon over head at smashed it down on its head again, again, again. Not signs of damage, again. Ruby clucked her tongue. She put the scythe under its head, and brought it up until the blade touched the creature's neck. Then, she pulled with all her streght, trying to take its head off. The creature screamed in pain this time. She struggled to decapitate the creature as it wildly moved to throw her off, maybe in panic.

"Ah, Geez." she muttered under her breath in frustration. "Just die already." she looked down, for an instant. "Shirou! Is your Aura recharged?!"

"No... Not completely."

"...Hold on tight." she said, after a small pause. That made him tense. The last time she had said that, they had ended up riding on the back of a Nevermore. Which was horrible, no matter how tactically sound it had been. So he didn't even want to think about what she had in store now.

"Wait a..." his protest were drowned out by the roar of discharge of the sniper rifle, which hit the Nevermore on the head. She hit it again with the scythe on its head, shooting it at the same time. It let out a roar, and started spinning downward. No, not spinning downward. It was falling. He clenched the feathers even more tightly, and let out a girlish yelp of panic. He couldn't help but notice as they fell that Ruby looked absolutely calm, like nothing out of note was happening.

The Nevermore hit the ground, and Shirou went flying a few meters, fell hard on the ground, rolled, and came to a stop a bit later, dazed and feeling bile in his throat. He coughed. He was fine. He hadn't even felt the pain of the impact, since his Aura was still there. Weaker, but still there. It had been just the surprise.

"Holy shit." he heard somebody said. A woman.

He didn't care. He shook his head, and looked for Ruby. The creature had come to a stop, in the middle of trees it had scattered. She jumped off the beast back before it could do anything to her. She landed, disappeared in a whirl of roses and appeared at his side. She reached out for him.

"It's okay. I can move." he said, and forced himself to his feet, grunting. He took a step forward, lost his balance, almost fell and somehow managed to straightened himself. Well, shit. That wasn't going to convince her.

"You don't look okay."

"I just need a few more minutes," he said, breathing heavily. ", but don't worry. I can fight. And I'm not going to die."

"O-okay."

"Ruby!" that same voice screamed. He looked and saw her sister rushing towards Ruby, and wrap her in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm glad too and all, but... We don't have time for this right now, Yang." Ruby said.

"She's right." Shirou interjected. "Unless you think a bit of cute sibling bonding is gonna repel that Nevermore. In which case, go for it. I stay at the back."

...What the hell was he saying? Maybe he had hit his head too hard. Yang turned his head towards him, while still hugging Ruby.

"You look like shit." she curtly said.

"I felt like shit, too."

The Nevermore roared. Shirou looked as it came to it's feet, and reached for his sword... that wasn't there. Oh. That was right. When the creature had nearly killed him, he had lost his sword. He was unarmed now. Well, damn. At least, he could still use that. That. Whatever it was. Even if he was hurt even more in the process, he couldn't fight otherwise. He had never done so consciously, out of the two times he had done so, but now, somehow, he felt like he could do it.

The creature rose to the skies, it's wing extended to the sides and let out a volley of sharp feathers. He jumped back, alarmed. Those feathers could cut through steel like butter, and it wouldn't take them much to break his Aura, even if it had been full. He extended his arm forward, sucking in a breath. Earlier he had only been able to create a flawed imitation, but now he could and would do it better.

"Trace On." he said. The words resounded in his head even after he had spoken them, like a chant. His body screamed, but he carefully put together the eight steps. In a few instants, Crescent Rose was in his hands again. He clenched the scythe so tightly his knuckles turned white, and got back into stance.

"Okay." Yang said. "What the fuck has just happened?"

"My Semblance." he croaked out. That wasn't the true, but it seemed like the only explanation they would accept. He himself didn't know exactly what the fuck was he doing to begin with, so he couldn't really give an explanation even if he had wanted to. "We've more things to focus on, right? Like that thing."

The Nevermore launched a volley of feathers again. The spear moved by itself, carrying him along, and he dodged or deflected all the feathers that came near him. The strain on his muscles only increased, but that wasn't important. He had projected the closest imitation of Ruby's weapon. He could still do this, despite what happened earlier. The creature roared again, and launched another volley. He used the scythe as support to propel himself back, out of the range of it's attack. He landed in a crouch.

He heard a strange sound, and looked. A girl came running out of the woods, with a Death Stalker on her tail. Sadly, he had seen weirded things. He sighed, and prepared himself for a giant clusterfuck. Before he could do anything about the new appearance, a girl in a white dress speed up past him. He recalled Ruby's words, yesterday. This was Weiss Schnee then. The Death Stalker's stinger lunged for her. She sidestepped it easily, and froze it's tail completely, trapping it. Good. One less thing to worry about... for how long would that last, anyway.

He looked back. There was that girl Blake and, on the left side of a nearby tree, there was Jaune, battered but alive. Also, he saw the temple, which really wasn't much of a temple. It was a rotunda in ruins. There was circle of stones inside of them, with chess pieces of the top of them. Thirty two in total. Relics... well, chess pieces were certainly worthy of being called relics, but he had been expecting something more.

"Ruby!" he called out to her, while dodging the Nevermore's onslaught and deflecting those feather's he couldn't dodge. "Go grab one of those things, and lets run!"

"Okay." she answered, at instant later she speed up past him.

The Nevermore roared again, and spiraled down towards him. He didn't know why it was focusing on him now, but it didn't matter either. He gritted his teeth, grabbed the scythe with his other arm and put it front of him. The impact shattered the weapon, and send him reeling to the floor, narrowly avoiding being hit by the creature's claws. He rolled away, came to his feet and projected the scythe again as the Nevermore raised into the sky once more.

"I've got it." Ruby said.

He ran towards the still trapped Death Stalker, made the scythe vanish and projected Weiss weapon, Myrtenaster. He used the Red Dust contained in one of the vials as he smashed it down when he got close enough. A blast of fire quickly consumed the ice enveloping the tail, destroying in a shower of chunks of ice and black blood. The Death Stalker let out a scream of pain. He jumped, and used the Yellow Dust. Lighting hit the creature's head, and soon extended through it's whole body. It screamed, trashed and died in an instant. Then it fell down. He looked down. He had moved by instict, so he hadn't noticed it before, but the Dust Exhaust Port was empty. He only vaguely understood than that was no part of his magic. It didn't matter. He turned, and ran for it. The rest soon followed, despite the surprise. The Nevermore followed all of them.

They got in the woods, and came out in front of an abandoned series of structures with the creature hot on their tail. They ran over the ancient stone bridge, and at that moment, the creature struck, using it's giant wings to shatter the path right in the middle. Shirou screamed, threw the rapier in his hands aside, and projected his own sword. He used the boosters to lift himself up, and landed in one of the stone pillars. Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Yang fired a barrage of blasts at the giant Nevermore. He projected Myrtenaster in his right hand, and joined them, but the creature either dodged the blasts or just let the attacks wash over it without any visible effect. Damn.

It destroyed the pillars one by one, forcing them to move upwards, to a bridge that was just below the cliffs. Right then, he got an idea. Maybe it was a bit too impulse, but it could work. Yang smashed the creature against the cliffs with her gauntlets, the Ember Celica. He almost gulped. But there was his chance, right there and there, he wasn't about to lose it. He used Myrtenaster to freeze it's tail, pinning the creature to the cliffs for a while.

"Ruby, Weiss!" he barked out.

"Don't give me orders so casually!" Weiss screamed back, but she still came.

They did it without needing him to say anything. It was a somehow obvious idea, so it wasn't much of a surprise to him. And even if they hadn't figured out his intentions, it all was pretty clear since he bothered to freeze it's tail to kept it in place. Yang and Blake put Blake's chain sickle between the pillars. Ruby put her back against it, and Weiss sigil send her flying.

Ruby propelled herself forward by shooting, and caught the creature's neck with the blade of the scythe again. Sigils appeared up the wall, and Ruby speed up through them, shooting the sniper-scythe all the while. It didn't take her long to reach the top of the cliff, dragging the Nevermore with her. She circled up, fired again and decapitated the beast. A shower of petals and black blood. She landed at the top of the cliff gracefully, in a crouch. The severed head fell next to her.

Wow.

There really wasn't any words for that.

Ruby looked down at him from the top, smiling softly. He smiled back at her, feeling like things would be all right from the bottom of his heart.

And then he passed out.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 _Long story short. There were IRL issues that lead me to think I wouldn't be able to update for several weeks, but I dodged the bullet. Don't expect for me to update again so quickly , but well, you never know._


	4. In Her Heart

**Chapter Four**

Emiya Shirou consciousness returned. He felt pain through his whole body, but it was a bit muted, so to say. Because of his Aura, he supposed. If it had time to heal him to that extend, it surely meant the exam was over. The last thing he remembered was seeing Ruby on the top of the cliff, holding her scythe, after decapitating a giant Nevermore. So she had to have carried him the rest of the way. For a moment, he wondered if that was grounds for expulsion, before dismissing it out of hand. No way that could happen.

He opened his eyes. Yup. They were back at Beacon. Ruby noticed him immediately. Her face brightened.

"Oh, Shirou! You're awake!" she yelled, and gave him a hug. She really had more streght that her small body and her age would have lead anybody to think. With her face against his shirt, she muttered: "I'm was scared..."

At that moment, he felt the pain in his body double for an instant. He bit the inside of his cheek, and tried to not let it show. He still remembered what she had said, back then. With him bleeding out against that three, unarmed, the Nevermore not too far away. She pleaded him to live because she didn't want to lose it like she had loosed her mother. He didn't want to worry her unnecessarily. It was just pain, and in any case, it had went away as quickly as it came. He awkwardly hugged her back. He really wasn't used to that kind of thing.

"Don't worry. I don't die so easily, Ruby."

"Promise?" she muttered, after a small pause. Poor girl. She was very strong, far stronger that him, but in the end she was also a kid.

"I promise it. I won't die."

She stepped back. He saw the tears streaking down her face, and her light blush. She laughed, for some reason, and wiped her tears away with the back of her hands.

"Sorry about that. I just..."

"Oh, that's so cute, Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, suddenly putting herself between the two of them. Almost protectively. Though maybe he was over thinking it.

"Shut up." Ruby said, crossing her arms at her chest. "I've already seen him almost die once before, so..."

"He nearly died in the initiation test?" Weiss interjected. "Maybe he isn't suited for this."

Ruby whirled towards her. He looked back, and saw that Blake was also following them. She was looking towards the distance, trying to ignore their bickering.

"He nearly died because he pushed me away out of that Nevermore's way. It was my fault, so you don't get to say that he isn't suited!"

Weiss flinched.

"I-I didn't know, okay?" she said.

"Let's just calm down." Shirou said, before Ruby could do anything else to make the situation between them worse. "We won't accomplish anything by yelling at each other. And in anyway, we're going to be late if we kept this us. I really don't want to be kicked up because of stupid thing like that."

"But Shirou.." Ruby started, trailed off and huffed. "Well, fine."

They walked on towards Beacon, in silence. Ruby tried to go and help him walk, but he somehow convinced her that he was fine.

* * *

The pain continued even after getting to the main hall, but he was otherwise fine, and he hadn't felt a spike of pain again. It was only a matter of time before his wounds were healed by his Aura. He stayed with Ruby as the students were called up the atrium, and Ozpin assigned their leaders and the team name. He didn't pay much attention to it, true to be told. He heard Jaune's name, and that did take his attention away from his thoughts. He was in a team with Pyrrha Nikos, the girl that had ran out of the woods with a Death Stalker on her tail, another girl named Nora Valkyrie and a boy named Lin Ren. Their team name was JNPR-Juniper- and Jaune was named their leader. That surprised him, but in a good way.

Eventually, he, Ruby, Weiss and Blake were called up to the atrium. That was also a surprise, but not in a good way. Blake... for what he recalled about the fight with the Nevermore, she was a good fighter and a good teammate. He didn't know anything about her, not yet, had not problems with her. But Weiss was a different story entirely. He didn't think Ruby and her could get along no matter what happened. Oh, well. The team was what what it was, and it would remain like that no matter how much he complained, so he just had to dealt with it. They stood in line, looking to the headmaster.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SRWB. Led by..." Shirou held his breath. He hoped that it was Blake or Ruby. He really didn't think Weiss was good material for a leader. "Emiya Shirou!"

What?

"Headmaster, I'm not..." Shirou began, but then Ruby barreled into him, her arms around his neck. He almost fell. She had a brilliant smile on her face, so happy that it seemed she herself had been chosen as the leader. She turned her head, and childishly stuck her tongue at Weiss. That... that wasn't going to make things better at all.

He took a step forward, dragging Ruby-who was still clinging to him- with him. He wast thinking about convincing the headmaster to reconsider his decision and place anyone but him as the leader, but his vision swayed twice in front of his eyes, and he fell down on one knee. Bile rose to his throat.

"Shirou!"

The pain started growing. He bit back a scream, but no matter how great his willpower was he just couldn't kept himself together anymore. He fell on the ground. The last thing he saw before passing out was the headmaster in the middle of the blackness, looking at him with a haunted expression.

* * *

Emiya Shirou waked up. He suddenly sat up, coughing violently. The coughing stopped after a while. He drew in a breath, recollected himself and looked around. He was in infirmary, that much was clear. It didn't like places like things at all. It brought back memories of things that were best left forgotten. He closed his eyes, and after a moment he opened them again.

He felt fine. A little sore, but fine. His Aura and the infirmary staff must have done their job well. He knew he should be grateful for the help, but he would have rather gritting his teeth and dealt with the pain until it went away that dealt with a place like that. Hospitals and such were good things. Every person you saw was one who had been saved. Yet it was also a reminder of those who hadn't been saved. He heard the door open. He turned towards it, and saw Ozpin entered the room.

"Headmaster." he said, inclining his head as a show of respect.

"Necrosis." Ozpin said. "And you had extensive nerve damage through your whole body. It's a wonder you got to the main hall on your own feet... to be honest, it's a wonder you're even alive right now. You also had several broken bones, though that healed during the way. I don't understand."

Wow. That was... that was a lot more serious that he had expected. And yet here he was, feeling fine.

"I don't understand it, either, headmaster." he said, after an uncomfortable pause. "As you know, I discovered my Semblance not too long ago." it was a lie, of course. Kiritsugu had drilled into his head that magecraft was a secret, despite that Huntsmen and Huntresses had things close to magic. "It's... troubling. I've never heard of a Semblance hurting his user."

To be a magus is to walk with death. That was one of the many things his adoptive father had taught him, so maybe his words had sounded fake to the Headmaster. Now that the initial surprise had passed, he realized that he should have expected something like that.

"Emiya Shirou." Ozpin said, holding his gaze. He stood straighter unconsciously, because of his tone. "Do you have anything you wish to tell me?"

"...No."

"I see. Fine. I won't force you or anything. Kept it mind one thing, at least. You're my student. I consider each and everyone of you my children. Though, of course, I like some more that others. If you do wish to tell me something, my door is always open."

"Thank you, Sir." he didn't know what else to say. He felt bad for lying to the man, but it's not like he couldn tell him the truth, either. It would be bad for everybody.

The headmaster nodded, turned around and when out of the room, leaving him to wait for a nurse to come around.

* * *

A nurse came about twenty minutes later, when he was considering laying down and doze off for a while. She examined him, and told him that he was in good condition, something he could already felt by himself. Before sending him on his way, they told him that his uniform had already been delivered to hims room and then gave him a little white card with the floor and room number of team SRBW. Throwing a bunch of adolescents in the same room seemed like an irresponsible thing to him, even if they were a team. But it wasn't like anything would happen in his case so, well, whatever. And also, aside from that aspect, it made sense for teams to be together. So he didn't have any real grounds for complaining.

He headed for there. It was the first time he could just walk around Beacon and enjoy the sights, without any obligation present in his mind. It was a nice place. The more he saw of it the more he thought that this place was exactly what it said it was. A Beacon. And for what? Hope. He couldn't really describe the feeling that enveloped him, at that time. He drew in a breath, and released, smiling contently. It was... a nice feeling. Maybe that was the best way to express it. He got there, and knocked. You know. Just in case.

"Who's it?" he heard Ruby's voice from behind the door.

"It's me." Shirou curtly replied. The door swung open. Idly, he noted that Ruby was wearing the same pajamas he had seen her with during their first night in Beacon. She was smiling brightly.

"Shirou! How did it go?" she asked. He look at her. She was trying her best to act normal, but he still could see the fear hidden behind her expression. He couldn't tell her the truth. Not now.

"It went well." he answered, a little nervously. "It was just a bit of backlash for using my Semblance. Nothing serious."

"Nothing serious?" Weiss yelled, go out of the bed and went towards him, her hands on her waist. She really looked like she wanted to strangle him. "You've been in the infirmary for a day!"

"A day?" he had saw that it was night already, obviously, but he had only thought he had been unconscious for a few hours, not that a whole day had passed. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I'm fine. See?"

"Yeah, I see." she said, rolling her eyes. "Or so you say, anyway."

He couldn't win this. If living with Fuji-nee had taught him anything, it was that he couldn't really win any argument even if he was in the right. He felt himself smiling at that. It was a small thing, but it reminded him of home.

"Well, whatever." Shirou said, and let out a breath. "Its good to know you care."

"W-what!" she took a step back, getting red with anger. It looked rather odd on her pale white face. "D-don't misunderstand me! You were made our leader, as must as I dislike it, so its only natural to look up for your well being."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Let's go with that."

"Wow, Shirou." Ruby whistled. "Maybe you're a lady killer after all."

That combination left Weiss spluttering in embarrassment. He was just glad he had plenty of practice in hiding his emotions, so he didn't let his own embarrassment shown. He gave a brief glace to Blake, who was seemingly managing to sleep even with all the noise and then stared at the only bed that hadn't be occupied when he came into the room.

"That's mine?" he asked.

"Yup." Ruby answered.

"I'm a little tired, so I'm gonna sleep right now. If you don't mind." he said, and climbed into the bed.

"Sure thing." Ruby said, as he closed his eyes. He went to sleep not too long after, surprisingly.

* * *

Shirou waked up, holding back a scream. That nightmare again. The day of the fire had been brought back in his dreams with intensity, and a vividness that was like it had happened yesterday. It left him in cold sweat. Despite it had been long ago, so long ago, it still marked his life in ways he couldn't even understand. There had been people who couldn't save others, and then there had been him, who couldn't save them. Many people meaninglessly disappeared it that day, burned away along with everything else.

He grabbed his uniform, and went to the bathroom to change. He didn't take long. He had to wait inside while the girls changed, and when Ruby gave it the all clear, he went outside. They walked to the classroom together, as a team. He followed them, since he didn't have no idea were it was. His first class turned up to be... not what he was expecting at all, to be honest. Professor Port was far for his image of a professional, fully-trained Huntsman. And he spend most of the class telling some tall tales about his younger days, instead of actually teaching. The second class got better, and the next one too, though. Which was a relief. Lunch time was nice. He was more accustomed to Japanese food, yes, but still he had to get accustomed to this kind of food in his old academy. And it was really well made. He would ask the cook to give him some tips, first chance he got.

The last class of the day was sparring, under the supervision of Glynda Goodwitch. This was also were he learned that the instructors had done him a favor, and got back his weapon from the Emerald Forest, even though his 'Semblance' would ensure he wasn't ever going to be weaponless. He didn't have any special attachment to his weapon, not like Ruby or even Weiss did, but it did fell good to have it back in his hands. In this class, they just watched.

When it was over, and they went out to do whatever, he stopped at the door. He sucked in a breath, and released it. It didn't matter. He had to gather his courage and do what was right. As a person, it was his duty to do so. And as a leader, all the more so. Ruby realized he wasn't following behind them, and turned towards him.

"Shirou?" she called out to him, her nervousness clear in her tone.

"I'm fine. Anyway, can we talk in private?"

"Sure." she turned to Weiss and Blake. "Go ahead."

They did, without asking questions. Ruby turned, and ran towards him. He looked at her face for a moment. She was still obviously nervous, but less so. He waited until all of the students had exited the classroom, and then went back into it, with Ruby following after him. Glinda was still there, so of course she noticed it.

"Emiya." she said. That she was calling him by his last name, respecting his customs, surprised him. "What do you want?"

"Its a team matter." he answered. "May we use the classroom? I just need to talk with her privately."

She looked at him, then at Ruby, then back at him.

"Very well." she left, closing the door behind her.

Shirou turned towards Ruby, held her gaze and wondered how to begin, how to best approach it. It was a hard matter. He himself hadn't really gotten over it, so...

"So what's is it?" Ruby asked, fidgeting a little bit.

"Back then, at the Emerald Forest." he let out a breath. "When... If you want to talk to me about it..."

"About what?" she cut him off.

"Your mother." he finally said.

"No, no, it's fine." she said, trying to wave off his concerns. "Besides." she muttered, bitterly. "What do you know about it?"

"I lost my family twice, Ruby, so I understand what you are going through."

"T-twice?!"

"Yes." he curtly replied, like it was nothing. This was it. He had to say it, no matter how much it would hurt him. Ruby needed to heard it, and needed to say it, too, as much as he didn't like to admit it. "Eight years ago, I was caught in a big fire. I guess my house was built in lucky spot, or I was just lucky. Either way, it didn't matter. The point is that I didn't die. I don't know what exactly happened to my parents. I lost my memory on that day. All I know for sure is that they died. I dragged my body through the ruins, keeping on despite everything. I was afraid of the pain, afraid of dying. I kept ignoring the cries of help around me, telling myself I couldn't do anything to stop it. That they were as good as dead already but I wasn't, so I had to live on. I hate it. I hated with all my heart that something like that could happen, that so many people disappeared meaninglessly. But that hatred soon stopped mattering; all I desired was to survive. The anger that made want me to help those people, to fix what went wrong, stopped mattering too. At some point I even stopped hoping I could survive, and yet I kept walking on. In other words... in order to let my body live, my mind died."

"Shirou..."

"Even what little streght I had left me." he continued, like he hadn't heard her. If he stopped talking about it he wasn't ever going to finish. "I fell down, and accepted my death. But a man was there to grasp my hand. He was smiling like my survival was the happiest moment he had on his life, and saved me. That man was called Emiya Kiritsugu. He taught me many things. He protected me and loved me like I was really his son. And he died two years after the fire out some illness. I understand, Ruby. So if you want to talk with me about it... you know, I would say my door is always open, but my door is also your door, so..."

"My mother... I was very young when my mother died. Eight years old." she suddenly said, after a small pause. "I looked up to her. I like father, too, of course, but... I like her the most. She was my hero. I always see that I want to be Huntress because I wanted to like the heroes in the stories Yang read me, but that's a lie. That only when that desire started. But what really drove me towards becoming a Huntress was my mother's death..."

She trailed off, and started hyperventilating.

"Ruby, calm down. You don't have to do this." he reached out to her, hesitantly.

"No!" she pushed him away, crying. "No! Don't treat me like a kid!"

"I-I wasn't..."

"You were! You told me about the fire and everything- which is much worse that what happened to me- without hesitation. even though it must have hurt you so much still and you don't want me to finish. You want to protect me, like I'm made of glass or something. How I'm supposed to take that?!" she laughed, tears streaking down her face. "And it's not only that. When we were getting to Beacon on that airship, I told my sister that I didn't want to be seen as someone of special for getting in two years earlier, but now I realize that there are worse things than that. I know now that I'm not the bee's knees, nor normal either. I'm just plain worthless!"

"W-what are you talking about? You're amazing!"

"Is you who doesn't know what he's talking about, Shirou." she retorted. "Think about it. Just think about it. You were so surprised when I showed you my sniper-scythe... You hadn't heard about them, let alone held one of them. And when you used your Semblance to reproduce Crescent Rose, you fought against that Nevermore like you had been training with it for years. Without any effort you achieved what it took me years and years of training. I'm worthless! I'm not strong mentally, and my skill with a weapon is nothing special. What do I have of value?"

"Ruby... That skill I showed at the Emerald Forest was your skill."

"W-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that my Semblance doesn't only allow me to reproduce the weapon itself, but the wielder's skill. I fought so well because I projected your streght. You're not worthless. Don't you dare say you're worthless!"

"B-but I..." she drew in a breath, and released. "I'm sorry. I was out of line."

"You don't have to apologize for anything." he said, wiping her tears away with his hands. She held his gaze. "I told you, right? That you could always talk to me, if you needed it."

"T-that's right, I guess. But I'm... embarrassed that I reacted like that."

"You don't have to be ashamed of it, either. Crying doesn't make you weak."

"It also doesn't make me stronger."

"Maybe. But just remembered that crying won't undo your achievements. You're amazing, Ruby. I meant it. You're heads and shoulders better that I am. You deserve to be the leader of this team, not me."

She looked down for a few moments. He gave her the space she needed, and simply waiting. She looked up, smiling widely. That was the expression that suited her best. He felt himself smiling.

"No. I think you're better suited as a leader, Shirou." he wanted to tell than that was wrong, that she would have been much better that him, but the warmness in her voice left him no room for a retort. His smile widened.

"If you say so."

One thing was for sure. Here at Beacon, at the side of this girl, there could only be brilliant days ahead.


	5. Unity

**Chapter Five**

The day went well, and today too, at least so far. Ruby seemed more chirpier that usual, which was saying something. All it all, even though they still had issues to straighted out, Shirou was starting to felt that they were a team and they belonged together. Maybe it was only wishful thinking, considering he didn't think Weiss would be all that cooperative, but it was a nice feeling. Classes were the same as yesterday. Different order, of course, but in the end the same thing. His favorite, even though he hadn't actually participated, was dueling because even just watching the fights was a good exercise.

Pyrrha Nikos was fighting now against a student he didn't know. It surprised him to learn that she was some famous person; he honestly hadn't never heard about her. But that didn't really matter. What mattered was that her skill was something that shouldn't belong to a mere first year student. She did short work of the student she fought against, without breaking a sweat. To be honest, he was sure that even if they threw three or four students together against her she could somehow managed to win. It was frustrating, and at the same time encouraging. He clapped along with everybody else. The class was going to have one last fight. A boy he had never saw raised his hand. He was tall, and was wearing a rather bulky armor. Without a helmet, of course. Helmets had stopped being really necessary since the discovery of Aura.

"Very well, Mister Winchester." Glynda said. "Let's find you an opponent."

"Actually, I wanna fight him." he said, pointing... towards him. He blinked. That was strange. He hadn't done anything that would attract his attention, so that he singled him out didn't make sense. Well, since he was the leader of his team, the other boy was probably trying to prove himself against him. Ruby slapped him encouragingly on the back.

"Come on, go kick his ass!"

"Okay." he sighed, and stood up.

"If you lost, it would be a disgrace to the team. Crush him. " Weiss said, harsh as ever, her arms crossed under her chest. Blake, with her nose buried in some book without a cover, merely gave him a thumbs up.

The two of them went down to the area. It wasn't the first time he did this kind of thing, so he wasn't nervous of anything. He didn't know anything about his opponent, so he had no reason to worry or be convinced. Well. It's not like it mattered. Losses would surely affect his grade in some small ways, but it was not a decisive, live or die thing or anything like that. He could just enjoy this and have some fun. He had already promised them he would win, though, so he couldn't half ass this. He lifted his sword, got into stance and waited. He gave a brief glace to the name screen. Cardin Winchester versus Emiya Shirou. The other boy didn't waste any time. He rushed at him with his club held high.

Shirou shifted one of his feet slightly forward when the other boy got close enough, and, putting all his weight and power behind, attacked. He pushed the attack back, and also the other boy. He stumbled, almost fell and managed to steady himself. Growling like an animal, he lashed out at him. Cardin was fast and strong, but not nearly enough. And besides, even if he had been, such clumsy attacks would have spelled out his defeat anyway. For some reason, he was driven out by blind anger, and he couldn't even concentrate in the fight that was happening right now. He didn't understand. He really didn't understand.

But he didn't have to, not right now.

He dodged or parried his furious onslaught of attacks, hit the club aside with his sword, ducked low and slammed his sword against his opponent's stomach. Which, of course, hit his Aura instead. The first strike send him out of balance, more for the surprise that anything, and that served as the signal. He let out his own barrage of strikes. He gave the final blow holding the sword backwards, and activating the boosters at the same time. Cardin went flying, and slammed into the wall. He still held on into the club, though. If nothing else, he was tenacious. He took a step forward, snarling and slammed the club down to the ground.

From the point of impact, a roaring fire shot out towards him. He didn't move. He just put the sword in front of himself, taking a defensive stance. The fire impacted against his sword. His weapon held on, as expected, but it went flying out of his grip. It hit the wall at his right, fell to the ground, rolled and came to a stop soon after. Cursing under his breath, he ran for it. Cardin ran for it, too, to intercept him. He couldn't reach it, no in time. He knew that even though he didn't know exactly why. Damn.

He got in his way, like some sort of goalkeeper. The other boy's self satisfied smile got on his nerves, for some reason. Cardin wielded the club against him, and he was forced into defense, without any means of attack. He dodged all the attacks perfectly, but he was also being forced back continuously. The distance between him and his sword got larger every instant. Shirou gritted his teeth. Like hell. It irritated him. The very idea of losing here irritated him. If he couldn't beat the boy standing in front of him, he couldn't possibly save anybody. A hero had to be strong.

Cardin slammed the club against the ground once more. Shirou rolled aside, and jumped back, landing in a crouch. He slowly stood up, not once taking his eyes off the opponent in front of him. He could risk reaching for the sword. The other boy wasn't particularly fast. But victory or defeat, in this place, was determined because of Aura. One good hit with that thing and he would be put against the ropes. He didn't want to risk it. Ruby was up there, watching the fight, his confidence in him unshaken. He had to answer that confidence in kind, so he had to be victorious. He couldn't leave anything to chance. He took a deep breath.

"What's wrong, Emiya?" Cardin drawled out. "Scared? I don't know what the headmaster was thinking of when he made you, of all people, be the leader of a team. You're nothing."

Shirou didn't care about his words. He extended one hand forward, and gathered his energy. He could do it.

"I'm..." he started the spell so he could be proud of himself, the words that would connect him. "I'm the bone of my sword."

"...What did you say?"

There's only one single image coming and going through his mind. Not a distant hill of swords, but her figure under the light of the sound, triumphant, radiant, with that scythe in her hands. The crescent that would light up the darkness. He carefully puts together the eight steps. The concept of creation, the basic structure, the composition material, the skill of its making, the experience of its growth and the accumulated years. He burned through it all, and projected Crescent Rose perfectly.

"How?!"

Crescent Rose moved, and Shirou followed. His body was forced beyond his limits, to kept up with the experience the sniper-scythe had burned him, Ruby's fighting style whose center was her Semblance. He couldn't kept up. His muscles and bones strained, and he felt like he was melting apart. Projection was something out his limits. His body couldn't possibly handle the strain. But... he was a Magic Circuit specialized for that purpose alone. There was no way that would destroy him.

Shirou shot at his enemy four times on his way, and when he came close enough, he used the sniper-scythe as support to propel himself above his enemies head and into the other side. He reacted, but not fast enough. He slammed the scythe against his enemies unprotected back, sending him into the ground, and discharged four more shots against his Aura while he tried to get back on his feet. A buzzer rang. He froze. The match was finished. He vanished Crescent Rose with an effort of will, and concentrated of getting himself back together. The pain wasn't that much. He was getting used to this. He closed his eyes, and after a few moments opened them again.

"This will be last fight for today." Glynda said. "One last thing. Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

Cardin looked up at him, and held his gaze with a murderous look in his eyes.

Shirou didn't care.

* * *

They went to lunch together with team juniper, as usual. The girls had launch with them on the first day, because Jaune had gone to ask them about his condition and his team followed him, and they had apparently hit off. Which was nice, really. Seeing that Jaune had partners that cared about him and didn't resent him for being the leader, even though he was obviously weaker, cheered him on. On the first day, he had honestly thought that Jaune just didn't fit here at Beacon, but it seemed like he had already found his place.

He watched them eat at talk between themselves with a wishful smile, and sometimes participated, but not much more. He didn't need it. Just knowing that they were happy and smiling was enough for him to felt satisfied. And, more so, he didn't deserve it. He could pretend he was normal, but he wasn't. The memories of that day were still burned in. He remembered the cries for help he had ignored, and those who were so badly burned they could only staring pleadingly, begging for help. He didn't deserve to be happy. His life, out of all of people, had been saved by chance. So that the deaths of those people he hadn't helped wouldn't be meaningless, he had to stop something like that from happening again. It was the only path possible for Emiya Shirou.

Then he saw it.

All his good humor evaporated. He bit his lip; his eyes went wide and round. Cardin, along with three other boys which were probably the rest of the membersof a team, were surrounding a Faunus girl with bunny ears. One of the boys help up his hands to his head and wiggled them around. Shirou bit his lip harder, hard enough to draw blood. One of the poor girl's ears were painfully tugged by that bastard, and they laughed. Like nothing was wrong. Like it was only to be expected.

"Shirou? What's is it?"

"Nothing. Just... Just enjoy your lunch, Ruby." he stood up, and went to the table. Cardin heard him come. He let the girl go, and turned to look at him, a smug-smile on his stupid face. He enjoyed it. That bastard enjoyed the girl's pain and his anger.

"What's wrong, Emiya?" Cardin drawled out, when he came to a stop. "No, seriously, what is it?"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he said, his teeth chattering.

"What? Are you going to complain? Is not like she's even human, anyway. Is our right..."

"No, you sick fuck!" Shirou snarled, unable to contain himself anymore. "You don't have the right to hurt her! Nobody has the right to hurt anybody! If you want to continue your bullshit, you better be prepared, because you are going to have to get through me first!"

"You think you're some hot shot? That you beat me in a sparring match doesn't mean anything. This fight is not gonna stop when your Area goes down, Emiya. I definitively crush you."

"You?" he laughed. "You, of all people? You, that go at push around a girl who won't even defend herself because I beat you? Like hell!"

Shirou took off his sword, and got into stance. The members of the team readied their weapons, staring at him with a murderous expression. He heard that familiar sound, clear like a bell, from when Ruby first showed him Crescent Rose. He turned around. She was there, by his side, holding the sniper-scythe high. She gave him a short glace, and smiled at him. He smiled back.

He heard somebody sigh. Blake dropped the book, a genuine smile on her face and went to his left side.

"It can't be helped." she muttered beneath her breath, warmly. She took off her weapon, and got into stance.

"Come on." Weiss complained. "We could get expelled for this. Is not worth it..."

Cardin rushed at him, and his team followed. He ducked beneath his first attack effortlessly. Ruby jumped over his back in the next instant, and hit Cardin on the head with her scythe. The blow only managed to make him reel back, but she wasted no time. In a few movements so fast he himself barely saw them, she disarmed her opponent. His mace was sent flying out off his grip.

He grunted, and ran for his weapon. But it was too late already. Blake's chain-scythe wrapped around his legs, and send him tumbling down into the ground. She pulled, and slammed him against one of opponents teammates, which had ran for her, his weapon held over his head. Cardin impacted the other boy hard, sending both of them flying for a brief time.. They crashed on a nearby desk, breaking it in half. The plates hit the ground, too, and noisily broke. The occupants on the table stepped away, mostly angered. One screamed.

At that moment, Glynda Goodwitch burst into the room, looking murderous and turned his gaze towards them.

* * *

Shirou stared at the Headmaster and Glynda calmly, his arms crossed at his chest. The whole team was there with him, sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk. After fixing the broken table and plates, Glynda had took them all, even Weiss and the girl those idiots had been harassing, into the Headmaster's office without giving them the chance to say anything in defense. When Ruby tried, Glynda just answered that she should tell her that to the Headmaster.

True to be told, he was a bit nervous. He didn't regret it. He wouldn't never regret helping somebody that needed his help, standing up for what was right. But he was beginning to see an angle he had even considered, at first. He had been happy that Ruby had come to his side, and Blake too. But that also meant that they would share in whatever punishment they would hand out for starting the fight. He was prepared for whatever they threw at him, but he didn't want them to suffer in anyway because of the consequences of his actions. Even if it ended up being cleaning the gym, or something like that.

"Do you have any idea of what you have done?" Glynda said. "You're Huntsmen and Huntress, not children. Professionals don't start fights like that..."

"Glynda." Ozpin cut her off. "Please, be silent. We don't know their side of the story. You can't jump to conclusion."

The Headmaster looked directly at him.

"Emiya Shirou." he said. "As the leader of the team, what do you have to say to compensate for your actions, for your teams actions?"

"I..."

"Headmaster, with all due respect, I didn't participate in the fight!" Weiss interrupted him. "I don't think I deserve to be punished."

"You didn't." Ozpin said. "That much is clear to me. I don't need to see it to believe it. But I don't think you seriously tried to stop the fight. You are a part of the team, Miss Shnee. Is your responsibility just as much as theirs."

"That's..." Weiss looked down, ashamed. "That's true. I'm sorry. I should have been the voice of reason."

The Headmaster turned towards him.

"Before we were so suddenly... interrupted, I asked you a question. What's your answer?"

"Cardin Winchester was harassing a Faunus girl. I didn't stand for it. I ordered the team to support me. Weiss didn't. Blake and Ruby respected my authority as their leader, and followed me into battle regardless of their personal feelings..."

"That's bullshit!" Ruby yelled, standing up. That pretty much completely fucked his attempt to not get them into trouble. Damn. "He never gave such an order. I followed him because I couldn't let him in fight alone, and what that idiot was doing was despicable. Nothing more. If you punish him, you've too punish me too."

"I already knew it was a lie, Miss Rose." Ozpin retorted, his tone even. "I don't really know him, but I know him enough to know he isn't that kind of person."

"Know him?" she repeated, hesitantly. "Since when?"

"Ask him what happened at his old school, if you want to know."

"Okay." she answered, and sat down. Shirou winced, for a moment.. He didn't want to recall it. It was a bad memory better kept buried. But if she asked him about it, he didn't think he could bring himself to turn her down.

"Velvet." Ozpin said. Shirou was confused for a second, until he realized that had to be other girl's name. "Is what he said true?"

"Yes." she answered, looking down and clutching the fabric of her pants.

"Mister Emiya." Shirou turned towards the Headmaster, and held his gaze. There was a small pause. "I think you did what was right. But Glynda was also right, in a sense. This is a school. Like it or not, there are rules here. You should have reported it to the faculty instead of starting a fight."

"Yes, sir." he answered, knowing that if he ever saw something like that again he would start a fight anyway.

"So your team will face an appropriate punishment. As well as Mister Winchesters team, of course. Yours will be the lighter one, though. Your team shall clean the kitchen, and the lunch room for about, uh. Let's say a week. You can..."

"And Mister Winchester?" Blake drawled out, looking absolutely murderous. "What punishment will he get?"

"He will be revoked of his status as the leader of team CLDR. It will not assign another leader, so that will leave the team unable to go on missions and other things until I deem Mister Winchester worthy of taking his position again. Also, he and his whole will be in detention for about a month."

"That's nice and all, Headmaster." she continued, after a small pause. "But we shouldn't be punished at all. Do you ever wonder why the White Fang has got so many Faunus siding with them? Because of shit like this. They are treated as sub-human, and when somebody is courageous and kind enough to stand up for them they get punished for it and the perpetrator gets only, in all honesty, a slap of the wrist. And you don't take steps to prevent it for ever happening again. It's absolutely _disgusting_."

"How dare you!" Glynda seemed outraged, but he was about ready to cheer on her. He didn't know much about her, but it was clear Blake also was good people. It had been clear since she had stood up to fight for justice, regardless of the consequences.

"I'm doing what I can, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said, raising his voice a little. Glynda relented. "However only one man can hardly do much against some many years of hatred and prejudice. And I can't expel the students who mistreat Faunus. They are hardly worthy of being Huntsmen or Huntresses, but the reality is that we need every single soldier to face the Grimm... or it all will end in our deaths."

"...Fine." Blake said, but it was clear in her eyes that she didn't think that was any excuse. That he should have found another way to punish them so that they wouldn't do it again without expelling them. That was also what he thought.

"This matter has be cleared out, so you can go now." he said. "Glynda, go get me team CLDR."

Shirou stood up, and walked away with his team. Once they were out of the Headmaster's office, Velvet went away without saying anything. He watched her go, for a moment, then turned around and followed the girls while lost in his thoughts. That fiercest that Blake had show... He didn't want to think she wouldn't trust them, but what he was thinking seemed likely.

"Blake." he called out to her. The ground stopped, and turned towards him questioningly. Blake moved gracefully and smoothly, like a cat. He fixed his eyes on her bow. It was rather innocuous, but his train of thought leaded him to think it was something more.

"What is it?" she said. Shirou opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what, and closed it. It was her privacy. If she wanted to hide what she was, he didn't have the right to reveal it. She was his teammate. He couldn't betray her trust.

"I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for fighting with me. And for backing us up, too."

"You shouldn't thank me." she said, but her eyes had softened. "I did it for myself."

"Even so, I appreciate it." he held Ruby's gaze. "And what you did too, of course. I... not many people have believed in me before, so I'm really grateful."

That was a big understatement. The events at his old school had happened precisely because they saw him only as an eyesore.

"Not problem." Ruby warmly said. "We've to stick together, right?"

"Right." he chuckled, and smiled widely. He felt sincerely happy, even though he really didn't deserve it.

An everyday life like this wasn't bad at all.


	6. Lingering Scars

**Chapter Six**

Aside for the rather uninspired name, Emiya Shirou thought the Forever Fall forest was beautiful. The beautiful, eye catching red and the constantly falling leaves were a nice sight. He didn't even want to know how the hell could they fall indefinitely, but it was nice, yes. He didn't think he could make justice to the sight before him with mere words, and what it lead him to think of. The burning fires, and the smell of death. All he could say for sure was that, in a weird way, it was reaffirming to him. Life itself was fleeting, and destined to wither away, but the way to that was beautiful and even after that pain didn't have to be the only thing that remained.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." she held up a jar full of sap. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

He noticed Ruby and Xiao Long smiling at each other, before going on their separate ways since they were on different teams. They got to work soon immediately, as a team. It was nothing too complicated. It was almost relaxing, to be honest. Doing something small and simple, without risk of serious harm or even death, was a nice change of pace from most practical parts of this academy. He kept his guard up at all times, expecting an attack from Grimm. That would be the true complication. So far, though, nothing went wrong and he didn't heard anything suspicious.

"Shirou?" Ruby whispered to him, in the process of filling another jar. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, curious.

"What is it?"

"Can... Can you tell me what happened at your old academy?"

That made him freeze. He could, of course he could. He remember how it started, how he had thought it ended and how it really ended. It wasn't like he had lost his memory or anything. He didn't want to, he really didn't, but she had asked him. For some reason, he was nervous of turning her down at seeing disappointment in her face, anger or even worse, tears. He didn't want to betray her trust.

"Sure thing." he said, his tone even despite the whirlwind of emotions inside of him. "I tried to get into Signal, but I didn't make it. Guess I was nervous about it, and fucked up badly. I did get accepted into another, smaller academy that you have probably never heard of. Anyway. I did my best. And towards the end of my second year there, I got caught him a bad mess. I saw three students bullying another kid because he was weak. I couldn't stand how they pushed him around. So I pushed them all around. And, well, they kind of got mad at me. One day they cornered me outside the school, using that kid as a bait. They had hit all tied up, and his mouth shut with duck tape. They told me that if I fought back they were going to kill him. "

He noticed then that Weiss and Blake were also listening to him. That made him waver for a moment. He took a deep breath, and released it.

"They tried to hurt me. Not kill me, but hurt me bad enough so I would remember it for a good while. Nobody would have seen it in time, so they could have gotten away with it, too. It was at that time that I discovered my pro-Semblance."

"What were about to say?"

Shirou knew he couldn't get away with just denying it.

"...Projection. I-is what I call my Semblance."

"Uh, okay."

"Anyway. I discovered it, projected the weapon of one in my right hand and another one in my left, and I fought back."

"That's great!"

"No!" he screamed. Ruby almost jumped. "It isn't great." he continued, his voice soft, feeling guilty for taking his anger and frustration out of her. "Driven with that instinct that comes with it, scared as confused as I was, I nearly killed them. I probably would have, if they hadn't found us in time."

"Oh. I'm s..."

"You didn't know. You don't have to be sorry." Shirou answered. "Anyway, that's the end of it. Since I reproduced two weapons out of thin air perfectly, Headmaster Ozpin got interested in me. He came to visit me once I got out of the hospital because of the backslash of using it..."

"You really shouldn't use it, if it hurts you."

"I'm getting used to it. You watched my fight with Cardin, didn't you?"

"...That's true. But... I thought you were in pain, back then."

"I was." he told her truth, because he couldn't lie his way out that one. "But that was only pain, and it passed quickly."

"Only... Only pain?"

"Yes. Only pain. It didn't leave me in the hospital, or anything." he continued. "Talking about hospitals... I had a talk with Ozpin, a long one, before he accepted me into his school. He asked me to tell him what happened, and why I did it."

"And what did you answer, Shirou?" she asked, a hint of fear in her tone. He frowned. He didn't understand, and that made him worry.

"I..." a small pause. He considering what would be the best response. "I told him pretty much what I told you, and that I saw a lot of people disappearing meaninglessly, so I swore that I wouldn't never let such a thing happen again."

"Shirou... You can't kept up like that."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, growing nervous without reason. "It's my responsibility."

"I admire you." she admitted, blushing a little. "And I can't reprimand you for wanting to help people, to make things better, because that's the very reason I wanted to be a Huntress. But you... you don't have a responsibility for anything. That fire wasn't your fault, and you couldn't have saved anybody even if you tried. You were just a kid. You can't value everyone else over yourself."

"I should have tried. Ruby, I don't think you understand this. I left them to die. I valued myself over everybody else at that time, so to not make their deaths meaningless I have to carry all that weight with me."

"Don't you say that!" she yelled at him, unshed tears shining in her eyes. "Carry all the weight you want, but at least take care of yourself. You don't care about your life at all!"

"What... What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about?!" she screamed. "You know that well! Back at the Emerald Forest, you pushed me out of the way of the Nevermore's attack and you didn't even try to dodge! And when I came to help you, you begged me to run and leave you to die!"

"That's only natural! You would have been hurt if I didn't that, and I wasn't going to let you die trying to save me!"

"Is not only that! For what you told me, you even felt guilty you hurt those thugs badly! They deserved everything blow you gave them! When we reached the temple, you insisted on fighting even though you weren't in good condition! When you saw Cardin bullying that girl, you lashed out without thinking! And when the Headmaster was interrogating you, you tried to push all the blame into yourself! You don't consider the effects you actions could have on you; you only care about other people."

Shirou opened his mouth, closed it and swallowed it. He didn't feel alive at all. He tried to gather the right response, but those silver eyes staring at him destroyed his every attempt. What could he say, even if she wasn't looking at him like that? He hadn't no reason for the beginning. Maybe...

"Well?"

"I just... I can't stand somebody being hurt in front of me. I can't stand seeing somebody getting killed in front of me. It's more painful and scary that anything else to not be able to help somebody asking for help. I remember... Those eyes that looked at me, his smile and the voice pleading for me to live. At that time, I thought not about the fact that I was saved, but the fact that someone's there to save me. The fact itself is such a beautiful, miraculous thing. So I have to save people to compensate for all those I couldn't save..."

"Shut up!" she screamed, while crying. "You sound like mother!"

He froze. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he could say. She turned away from him, and concentrated fully on her work.

"Ruby..."

"Don't talk to me." she muttered. Her small, broken voice made him felt sick. "Not now."

He didn't speak. The mere thought of what she must been feeling right now tore him up, but he didn't.

* * *

All in all, the work was finished quickly and they started the trip back to Beacon. Emiya Shirou didn't really care. It hadn't bothered him, anyway. What bothered him, what had his complete attention, was Ruby. Her downcast expression, those blotched eyes , her face streaked with tears. No matter how much he tried to think of something else, he found himself looking at her and wondering what to say so she would smile again. He couldn't stand her seeing like that, all the more so because he knew it was because of him.

But what could he do? He cared about her, so it hurt him all the more to see her that way and only increased his desire to help her. It was easy to forget that he didn't know her all that long. He didn't know her situation. Even now, he would only draw conclusions for what she had told him and her reaction to his words today. Her mother, whatever her name might be, had died protecting people. And Ruby was bitter about it, that she protected strangers instead of coming back home with her. But that wasn't nearly enough. He didn't know her. His understanding of her was merely superficial. He hadn't even consider his words would affect her like that, so nothing he could come up with would make that pain go away. To her, he was barely more that a stranger.

He was feeling weird. Normally, it wasn't complicated. A person he cared about was not too far for him, crying and miserable, so he would help that person with everything he had. That was it. No second guesses, nor bad excused. But the very thought of going there and saying the wrong thing to her, making it so she would go away forever for him terrified him.

By the time they reached Beacon, he still hadn't managed to gather the courage to talk to her.

* * *

That night, Shirou dreamed of the fire. He dragged his dying body through the ruins of everything he had ever know, losing a part of himself for every step, the burning in his lugs so intense it was almost real. And then he waked up, covered in cold sweat. He sighed quietly. That again. It seemed like no matter how hard he tried he couldn't leave those nightmares behind. He wanted to carry the weight of what happened, the cold reality that always dragged him down, because that was how lost things remain. Reality can't be overturned, so all that was left was carrying it. But still. He wished to have a peaceful night, at least today.

He heard the light sound of footsteps upon the hard floor. He tensed, for a moment. Then he listened. Somebody sat down. Shirou opened his eyes, and looked up. Blake was still her bed. He looked slightly to the right. Weiss, too. But Ruby wasn't. She couldn't sleep. Of course she couldn't. The thought of it made him felt all the more guilty about what had happened yesterday. He wished he could take it back, not for the first time.

He got out of the bed, slowly, carefully. She either didn't heard him or pretended not to heard him. He turned, and saw her sitting by the open window, in her pajamas, her small figure framed by moonlight as she looked towards the distant heavens. She wasn't crying, but it wasn't any better. She looked almost... dead inside. He gathered up what little courage he had, and approached her. He didn't try to hide it, but still Ruby didn't even twitch. He came to a stop near her, so close they were almost touching.

"Ruby, I..." he let out a breath. "I don't know what happened to you exactly, nor how you felt and how you are feeling right now, but still, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through it before and you have to go through this now. I wish I could do something about it, but I'm powerless to do that. Still, I... I don't believe its a mistake. There's no way wanting to help people can be a mistake."

She didn't move. She didn't say anything, either. He kept on staring at her, and didn't move himself. Only for a bit. The time it took for him to realize that this was it, that he had fucked up like he had so feared at that time. He took a deep breath, and turned around. His heart weighted heavily in his chest.

"Good night, Ru..." he felt a small, warm hand wrap around his own and clasp it. He turned towards her, blushing a little.

"Stay with me." she simply said, without taking her eyes off the shattered moon.

He clenched her hand more tightly as an answer.

"I suppose," she said, clenching his hand so hard her knuckles turned white. ",that this is long overdue."

For an instant, he was confused. Then he got it. He though about opening his mouth and trying to convince her otherwise, but he promised her that he would stay with her. He wouldn't turn his back on that promise.

"Thank you." she said. He knew without needing to be told what that mean. "I...I'm going to tell you about my mother. I don't want to go again over what I said last time. I would, but I probably lose my courage midway, so I'll kept this succinct. There was an attack. A big one, big one that Grimm might overrun the city of Vale. Mother went, because it was her duty. And after sometime, I sneaked out to see her."

Oh, shit. He really didn't like where this was going.

"And why?" she bitterly muttered. "Because I was an idiot. I wanted to see my hero in action. I can't really tell you the exact train of thought that lead me to that, but that's the gist of it. The attack was stopped, of course. But I didn't really care. When I got there... I saw her fall. I ran to her. I don't remember if I shouted her, or something. I knelled at her side, crying and watched as her white cloak got stained with red. She slowly choked on her own blood, watching me with a haunted expression. I saw her body go limp, and her eyes closing. I screamed her name, over and over again, and shook her. TI was trying to wake her up. At some point I started screaming. And that's it. I don't remember much after that."

He clenched her hand. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head against the window. Her face was expressionless.

"I can't get mother's expression out of my head." she confessed, after a few moments. "I wonder what she was thinking in her last moments, how having to see her daughter watch her die without being capable of doing anything affected her. I wondered if she regretted being a Huntress, and other things like that. Like she was even concious enough at that point... I'm kind of a mess."

She stopped talking. Some time later-half an hour, perhaps several hours- she ell sleep. He wrapped his free hand around her waist, and hugged her to him, burying his face in her shoulder. He wasn't arrogant enough to think he had to protect her. If anything, she was the one that would protect him. Still, he wanted to protect her. He wanted to protect that smile. He let his body felt the weight of what he had to protect.

After a minute, he stepped away. He took his hands off her, and simply stared at her as she snored lightly, her head held against the stone of the sides of the big window, her chest going up and down.

"Do you want me to carry you like a newlywed bride?" he asked, even though there wasn't anybody to heard him. His voice resounding in the silence sounded weird. He awkwardly chuckled under his breath, and picked her up. The train of thought that had lead to him saying something like that had been already forgotten.

She was light. Really light. She had so much weight to carry upon her small body, and such streght. He wanted for her to share with him all that weight, so it would be easier for her, but he wouldn't push her. Stay with her. That's what she had asked of him, and that was what he would do.

He set her down on the bed, and covered her with her mattress. She stirred a little, but she didn't wake up. He bend down, hesitated, and kissed her brow. Then, he went back to his own bed in a rush, blushing and utterly confused. He tried to figure out what exactly was he thinking of, back then. One single image came and went through his mind. Her rosy, parted lips.

It took him some time to get back to sleep.


	7. Heart And Mind

**Chapter Seven**

Emiya Shirou somehow managed to sleep after that happened, though it took him a while. Instead of dreaming about the fire, he dreamed that Ruby was using his lap as a pillow, and he was feeding her a big cake. She was smiling widely, they both were. She ate each piece with gusto, and the way her eyes light up and her cheeks stuffed with cake made his heart beat faster. It was weird. Really weird. The weirdest dream he had in all his life, by far.

He waked up sweating, but for different reasons that last night's nightmare. He sat up, and Ruby sleepily told him good morning, while screeching. Then, she yawned. All he could think about was that vivid dream. He blushed a little, and almost looked away from her. He told her good morning, trying to sound normal, but he didn't think he had quite managed that. Ruby probably didn't notice it only because she was still half-sleep. He didn't know how his brain had managed to cook up that dream, but he didn't want to know, either. It was too embarrassing. At that point, he was just glad nobody, let alone Ruby, would find out about it.

They went through their normal routine. He got in the bathroom to change clothes, and waited until he was given the all clear to get out. Everybody was preparing for the upcoming Vytal Festival, but still, there were classes. Professor Port still didn't change, which was infuriating. He hadn't come to Beacon to heard him ramble on and on, and barely teach them anything. The stories as of themselves were mildly educational, but it was impossible to tell when the lies began or if there was some truth to them in the first place. The classes, all in all, proceeded as normal. In the afternoon, he followed the girls to Vale, because Weiss wanted to go to the docks to greet the students that came from Vacuo to the festival.

The Vytal Festival was a symbol of peace and unity. It wasn't entirely true, far for it, but he had least could appreciate the idea behind it. Still, he didn't really have any interest in it. He followed the girls because he was kind of supposed to, since they were a team, but mostly because he liked all three of them-even Weiss- and he didn't have anything better to do. It was nice, though. The festival was still months away, but he liked seeing the people of Vale preparing to receive people from all over the world with a smile on their faces. It cheered him up.

And Weiss thought the same, apparently. She was smiling widely. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he had barely seen her smiling since he knew her. Which was weird. But it only made him all the more glad that the festival existed, no matter what was the reason she was smiling. She should really smile more often. She had a nice smile. It was a shame that most of the time it was covered behind her cold exterior. They passed over a sign that read 'WELCOME TO VALE!'

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!"

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said, and chuckled. "It's kinda weirding me out."

Weiss turned towards her. Despite of Ruby's comment, her smile didn't drop in the slightest. That was... really weird, actually.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" she turned again, and kept on walking.

"You know." Shirou said, smiling. "You are kind of cute, sometimes. You really should smile more often."

"Oh, quiet you!" she snapped, blushing. Oh, well. He hoped he hadn't pissed her off too baldly and ruined her good mood. It didn't take them long to reach the docks. Ruby made a gargling noise, and pinched her nose.

"It smells like fish."

"Well, what do you think it would smell like?" he said, but his attention was not on her, from once. He looked at Blake. It was small thing, really. Not worth considering. But she looked pleased by the smell, and that, along with his suspicious, made him think that perhaps she was really hidden something behind that bow: cat ears. He wondered what would he say to make things better for her, so she could hold her head high and proudly show what she was to the world. But there were no words for that. Blake didn't trust humanity, and that was with good reason. This wouldn't smooth over as easily as it had happened with Ruby. What was burned in Blake's heart... he didn't know, and he wouldn't never know.

"Yeah, yeah, but..." Ruby gagged. "It's disgusting. I don't know how you can stand it."

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine Kingdom!"

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake said.

Weiss merrily scoffed.

"You can't prove that." she said. But to him, those words were proof enough. Though it was rather weird. Isn't like she would learn much from watching them, and, in any case, it wasn't against the rules or anything, as far as he knew, so she didn't have no reason to hide it.

"Hey!" somebody screamed. "Stop that Faunus!"

Shirou tensed. Somebody needed help. He didn't know who was it, exactly, if the human or the Faunus, but he didn't care about it right now. He ran for it. The girls followed him. A monkey Faunus ran down the length of a boat, and leaped off the edge into a lamppost. He effortlessly landed on the top of it, in crouch.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!" he said, and laughed. Shirou's hands clenched into fists, but he reminded himself that he didn't know the full story. He needed to get it out of it. If it turned out that he didn't have a good reason for what he had done, he would personally drag him back and make him pay the sailors.

"You no-good stowaway!" another sailor screamed. Like he hadn't heard him, the Faunus used his tail to hang on a lamppost in reverse while peeling a banana.

"Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" he said, ate the banana in an instant, and then jumped out of the docks here and landed close to where they were. He ran for it. He was really fast, but Shirou could catch up to him. Even if it looked like he would get away from him, he could just used his sword's busters to get it. He took a step forward. As the Faunus passed near them, he turned his head and winked at Blake. That made him hesitate, for a second. Long enough for the monkey Faunus to get away.

"Damn." he said, then clucked his tongue. He didn't have the time to dwell on what that gesture meant. He had to catch up to him. He started running after him. The Faunus hadn't still turned the corner, so if he hurried he could still catch up. A few moments before he got there, he turned the corner. When he himself turned the corner, he was nowhere to be seen. He looked and looked, but he didn't catch even the smallest sight of it. Feeling stupid, he repeated: "Damn."

He heard the rest of his team stop behind him.

"He got away." Shirou said. "Damn."

"Don't worry, Shirou." Ruby said. "He's just hitched a ride without paying. It's not like he has killed anybody or something."

"I know, but still... I wanted to set things right, or at least understand the reason why he did it and if it was a good one, make his situation better. But now..."

"The reason?" Weiss interrupted. "That monkey-tailed rapscallion needs no reason. He just doesn't have a respect for what's proper. He thinks he can do whatever he wants because his kind is oppressed."

"Stop that!" Blake yelled.

"What?" Weiss yelled back, incredulity clear in her expression.

"He's not a rapscallion, he's a person!"

"Oh, sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss seemed to be ready to start snarling. The situation was getting more out of hand by the instant. No, to be honest, it looked unsalvageable already. He could hardly believe things had been going so well a few minutes before.

"Stop it!"

"He clearly broke the law. You can't argue with that. He's just..."

"Okay, okay!" Shirou cut her off, before she could say something nasty. "Let's calm down. We're a team. We've to stick together. This... This is just not good."

"Then make her understand she's nothing but a spoiled brat!" Blake demanded.

"How da..." Weiss looked absolutely murderous. This was no good. No good at all.

"Blake!" he suddenly screamed, to shut Weiss up. "I know, okay? I know why you're so worked up over this, but you have to understand each other. Do you think she's being deliberative malicious?"

"Y-you know? S-Since when?"

"Since that whole mess with Cardin. But anyway, that's not the important thing here. Just... She has reasons for it. I don't know if they are good reasons, or what reasons she has to begin with, but that she has them is obvious. Please. I'm not asking you to agree, but at least try to come to an understanding. It all would be easy, if you only told them..."

"Tell us what?" Ruby interrupted, frowning. "Wait, Blake, you..." she cut herself off. Her expression turned downcast. She had realized it quickly, of course. He expected nothing less from her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because of people like her!" Blake screamed, pointing at Weiss.

"What do you meant by that? Wait. A-are you saying you're a Faunus?"

"Yes." Blake hissed, and tore off her bow, just like that, revealing the cat ears beneath. "Yes, Weiss. I'm a Faunus."

"...Fine. I understand why would you be offended. He's a person. I get it. I get it, okay? But he's a criminal! How the fuck can you justify that?!"

"You don't know his circumstances. You don't know shit about him. You can't judge him just because he's a Fanous."

"All I need to know is that he did it. Do you think I'm going to cry if he turns up to have a sob story? Criminals are criminals."

"You're _scum_." Blake spat out, absolutely murderous. "Just like Cardin."

Okay. If things hadn't been unsalvageable before, they were now. He wanted to find the right words to stop both of them, but even if he suddenly became smooth and suave, he couldn't fix this by himself. This was a problem between the two of them, and until they came to an understanding, at the very least, nothing would change.

"Please, stop this!" Ruby screamed. They acted like they didn't heard her. Or worse, they were so caught between themselves that they didn't heard her for real.

"Don't compare me to him! He pushed a Faunus girl around that didn't nothing wrong! I've reasons. Shirou was right in that. Want me to tell you?" Weiss asked. "Well, I'm gonna do it anyway. The White Fang has been in war with my family for years. And by war, I do meant war. I couldn't do nothing but watch my family and my friends disappear. And for what? Because some idiots thought the best solution to stop their oppression would be banding together and whipping humanity off the face of the earth. Are you telling me you stand being that?"

"No! For fuck's sake!" she yelled, frustrated. "I'm only trying to get through your thick head that people like you are the cause of so many Faunus joining the White Fang. That they have their circumstances, their stories, their _reasons_. But whatever. Doesn't matter. You don't care about nothing but yourself, and I... I'm already sick of your bullshit."

She put her bow back on, turned away and started to run. He grabbed her arm, and pulled her back.

"Let me go."

"No, you are not going anywhere. We're teammates. Like it or not, we've to stick together."

"...Fine."

He didn't move an itch.

"I said fine!" she screamed. Shirou slowly took his hand out of her arm. She didn't move. She didn't even twitch.

"Good." he whispered. "Good. You've made the right choice."

"You better hope you're right." she whispered back.

* * *

They made the walk back to Beacon in silence, their original purpose for coming here completely set aside. Ruby looked absolutely distraught, which only hurt him all the more. Damn. When he thought that the cause of all this was that they had heard that, by mere coincidence... no, he couldn't think like that. The problem would have surfaced eventually, regardless if that hadn't happened or if that monkey Faunus hadn't done that. They had just suddenly been forced to dealt with it now instead of later.

They went straight to the room. The hallway was empty, so there wasn't any danger of somebody stopping to listen in at that moment. He closed the door, and locked it behind him. Weiss sighed as she brought a hand to her head.

"Look." she said, slowly. "I've had quite a lot time to think about this, and yes, you're right. Most probably have a good reason to join the White Fang. Doesn't change that what they are doing is wrong, but I guess I can understand it. A little."

Shirou was astonished. In a good way. He had never expected her to get over Blake's words in that short of a time, without any kind of 'coaching', but she had. He let out a breath he hadn't even know he had been holding.

"I suppose that's enough." Blake said, her tone calm.

"Well, good." Weiss muttered, and huffed. "Because you wouldn't never make me think otherwise. In any case, I'm still a bit... upset you didn't trust us about it. Hiding it from the school I understand, but that you couldn't trust your own teammates is... well, doesn't bode well. But it doesn't matter. We can put that behind us. And I understand that seeing all that you had to see, you wouldn't want to risk it. So we're even. Now, if you excuse me, I going to bed. This day has been exhausting."

"That's great!" Ruby shouted, while stepping between them. "Now," she held out her arms to the side. ", team hug!"

"Don't push it." Weiss curtly replied.

Too late. They all hugged her, squeezing her between their three bodies. It was sort of weird, but it was the good kind of weird. The only persons he really felt close were Kiritsugu and Taiga Fujimura. He did get along with Sakura, and Shinji too, more or less. But in the end he had kept them at arm's length. So couldn't really be said he had friends. But... he was starting to realize that these three girls weren't friends, either.

To him, they were his _family_.

The image he had in front of him right now, of the three of them being happy and smiling... if nothing else, he would protect that for sure.

No matter what he had to do.


	8. Distance

**Chapter Eight**

Next morning, Emiya Shirou learned that there had been a robbery of Dust yesterday. That, as of itself, was nothing new, no matter how much he hated it and how frustrated it made him felt. What really got him was the localization. They had been close to those docks yesterday. If they had stayed the whole day, like they had planned too, they could and would have stopped it. At least there hadn't been no injured persons or... worse. Which was the important thing. But it was still vexing that they could have stopped the criminals and, more importantly, their acquisition of Dust could and would be used to hurt innocent people. The words of the reporter almost wash over him. The perpetrators had been identified as Roman Torchwick and members of the White Fang. At the very least, he had that. Didn't change how things were, though. He took a deep breath. He really didn't felt alive at all.

"Shirou..." Ruby said, then trailed off. The sound of her hesitant voice brought him back to reality. Blake and Weiss were sitting in front of him, and Ruby was at his side. They were having lunch. Team Juniper had finished earlier, so they were left alone in that big desk. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Please, don't blame yourself for this."

"Its not that." he answered, perhaps too quickly. "Just... what good is an Ally Of Justice who doesn't help anybody? I should have been there."

"You..."

"No. I should have been there. I know. I've already been taught that there are people who I can save and there are people I just can't. I can't fix everything. A hero can only save those he sides with. But... damn. I want to try. And I couldn't do anything about it. Is... Is frustrating, Ruby. I..."

"Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself already!" Weiss cut him off. "The past cannot be changed. Instead of asking yourself that, ask yourself what good is Ally Of Justice who hasn't got his head in the game!"

Shirou looked at her, a bit surprised that she was even trying to cheer him up, in her own way. He thought about her words, and he knew she was right. He had know for the very beginning. But. He opened his mouth, grasping for the right words. How to express how the news made him felt, what becoming an Ally Of Justice truly meant to him. For a moment, he considered just shutting his mouth. Having a heart to heart at the Emerald Forest had only caused problems with Ruby, even if it was only for a short time. He didn't want for them to been angry or sad, and even less if it was his fault. Maybe... maybe it was kind of stupid, but he couldn't help but felt that way. Then he thought back to when they came back from Vale, into the room. The hug they shared. And his thoughts. That they were family to him. If they were family, it was only natural to tell them... right?

"I know, but... When Kiritsugu saved me, I admired him. I admired how happy he looked, and I thought it would be great if I could live that way." he quietly confessed. "That's... everything to to me. I had nothing at all after the fire, so I admired the first thing that came into my sight. I lived because of him, and for him. And in the end... we were talking outside, and he was sitting. I started to notice that he just lazed carelessly around the house. I regret it, even now... I should have know that it was the actions of an animal that knew its time of death. He told me that when he was a child, he wanted to be an Ally Of Justice. And I protested, of course. Wanted. He didn't anymore. I was so angry, and I asked him if he had gave up."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ruby extending her hand towards him beneath the desk. He grasped it, somewhat grateful.

"His answer... he said that it was hard to call yourself that when you grew up, and that he wished he had found that up earlier. I agreed with him. I really don't know why. I just thought that it couldn't have been wrong since Kiritsugu said so. And I told him... It I can't be helped, so I take your place. It's impossible since you're an adult, but it should be all right for me. Let me take your dream. I will make it come true. He laughed, making a face that clearly said he didn't need to heard the rest, and said: Yeah, I'm relieved. That was how that man, who was even emptier that me, died. He looked so peaceful that I thought he would wake up, so I stayed beside him. Or maybe I just lying to myself. I don't know. I remembered I cried to myself all the night. Perhaps I cried eight years worth of tears, since after that there was nothing."

He let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Ruby squeezed his hand tighter, but she didn't say anything.

"So I... sad events, miserable deaths. The cold reality that hurts my heart. To continue to carry all the weight and the pain... isn't that how lost things remain? There were people who died in pain. There were people who risked their lives to save others. There were people who mourned for the deaths. But pain doesn't have to be only thing that remains. I don't want it to be the only thing that remains. Because I was saved. And I have to save others in place of all the people I couldn't save. I don't care that I would only have died in vain if I tried something. It might be irrational, but I felt responsibility for everything I could stop and I everything I couldn't not stop. Still.. I don't believe this path is the wrong one. There's no way wanting to help people can be a mistake."

Weiss spluttered, opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and looked down. She sighed.

"You idiot." she said, perhaps with a tinge of warmth. "I can't say anything if I'm faced with such bullheadedness."

Shirou noticed it, then. Blake's eyes, instead of being fixed the book she was carrying, were fixed on the television screen. Her eyes were wide and round. Her expression seemed haunted.

"Blake?" he called out to her, hesitantly.

"Its nothing." she said, and shook her head. As if to shake off some thoughts. "I'm fine. Don't look at me like that. But you... you aren't fine. You're just destroying yourself. You think you can carry the world in those shoulders of yours? You're only going to be crushed under that weight. I don't know why I'm even bothering. You've already said that you don't even care about dying in vain, so nothing I do will change that. But step back for a moment and think about the people you will be leaving behind."

Shirou didn't think about Taiga, or Sakura. At the instant he heard Blake's last sentence, he turned his head to look at Ruby. She held his gaze, and her smile widened. Just a little bit, but it got his heart racing. He looked down at their joined hands, for an instant. He opened his mouth to say that he couldn't be selfish and put the people he cared about ahead of the world. And yet. Those silver eyes... He found himself incapable of saying anything.

Even so, Ruby didn't let go of his hand.

* * *

The days that leaded up to the second semester were peaceful, but he didn't manage to talk to Ruby about that. He kept chewing on Blake's words over and over in his dead, wondering how to best approach a matter that had even crossed his head since he had made his oath. He didn't even know why it was so, but it was what it was. Before he even knew it, there was only one day before the start of the second semester.

That got on his nerves, but most of all, he himself got on his nerves, because he was being a coward. Not an Ally Of Justice, or anything like that. He just wanted to run for the truth hidden behind her words, and what that meant for Emiya Shirou. And what he thought of her, too. Blake was right. He knew that well. He wanted to become a hero who could save everybody, but he wasn't stupid. He didn't dream of a world without conflicts. He just wanted people in his view not to cry. And still...

Taiga would be heartbroken to heard about his death, and Sakura. But. Most of all, Ruby. She had compared him to her mother, who she had watched as she died, with him. It was obvious the damage she would have upon watching him die, not that long after watching mother died, would be irreparable. He wasn't saying she couldn't live her life without him, or something like that. Just that the scars of that would be there up to his dead, even if they faded somewhat. He couldn't let such a thing happen to her. He just couldn't. Even if push came to shove, he didn't know what he would do.

He didn't, and that _terrified_ him.

A slam. It brought him out of his thoughts so suddenly that he almost jumped for real. Ruby was in front of the desk, and she had slammed down a fairly thick bidder on the table. He was curious, but soon his attention was pulled away from that. That face. Her wide smile, puffed cheeks and excited expression. She was at her best like this. He smiled. He felt his worries melt away. Ruby cleared her throat, and gestured to everyone at the table.

"Sisters, friends... Weiss."

"Hey!" she protested. He would have done so, too, if he hadn't know it was only a friendly jest and Weiss indignation was only her going allow with the joke. The whole exchange made it felt good. Not too long ago, such a comment would have send her on angry tirade. Now, it only showed what good friends they had become.

"Four score and seven minutes ago," she continued, like she hadn't heard her. ", I had a dream. A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... ever!"

"...Did you steal my binder?" Weiss protested. Shirou looked, and yup, she had done so. The words 'Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee' had been scrawled out and underneath it Ruby had wrote 'Best Day Ever Activities'. He chuckled. Yeah, that was just like her. She made a peace sign with both hands.

"I'm not a crook." Ruby said. "But enough about that. Let's kick off the semester with a bang! It's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start again tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

"I don't know whatever to be proud or scared of what you've in store." Weiss said, after a small pause. She sounded serious, too.

"I settle for excited." Shirou said. He wasn't excited, not really, but he would go along with it. For her sake, if nothing else.

"That's the right attitude." Ruby said, pointing at him. "I knew I could count on you, my hero."

Shirou blushed. He knew she wasn't actually serious, yes, but still... Damn. That hit him right where it counted. Thankfully, she didn't notice it. Or at least she pretend to not notice. Either way, he was grateful.

"I don't know." Blake said. "I think I might sit this one out."

"Sit out or not," Weiss said. ",I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team. I for one think that..."

And then a pie hit her face. It got squashed, and the black chocolate was smeared all over her pale white face.

"What the fuck?" Shirou muttered beneath his breath.

Things happened quite fast. Weiss, snarling in anger, grabbed a piece of food and threw it at the table in front of them, in which team juniper was sitting. They hadn't eaten together today, for some reason. Anyway. The fruit hit Nora Valkyrie right in the face, and squashed too. The girl didn't react badly at all. She grabbed another pie, and threw it straight at Weiss and one thing lend to another. Soon enough, he was watching seven Huntsmen and Huntresses have food fight. He couldn't really remember exactly when it had happened, but they were left alone in the dining hall. A pie slammed into his face, making him reflexively close his eyes. It stung, and it general it was an unpleasant sensation.

"Oh, come on." he muttered beneath his breath, and then he whipped the stuff away from his face with the back of his hand. When he could do it, he opened his eyes again.

The fight unfolded before his eyes, and he was left there, stunned, as they literally used pans as makeshift swords, other food as throwing weapons and the damned soda machines and the soda cans which they made explode like bombs. The dining hall soon turned into a complete mess. Even Blake was at it. Which made him think he was dreaming the whole thing. If so, it had taken the top spot from _that_ dream, that was for fucking sure. He closed his eyes, and opened them again after a few seconds. Nope. They were still going at it. He watched as great food was wasted meaninglessly, opened his mouth to say something and merely gave up. He couldn't even imagine how fucked they were already, but it was too late to stop that.

Team Juniper was soundly defeated by the girls and Xiao Long. They ended up smashed against a cracked wall coated with soda and food by a whirlwind Ruby created using her incredible speed. The colors of that wall vaguely formed the shape of a rose. Kind of. Maybe it was just his imagination. And then Glynda burst into the room.

"Children, please. Do not play with your food!" she said. Oh, come on. That was a joke. Could things get any weirder? He hoped not. She fixed everything with her Semblance, like nothing had happened, in a few instants. Wow. Well, he could definitively see why the Headmaster valued her so much. Grumbling, she took a step forward, but the Headmaster stopped her.

He didn't listen to their conversation, whatever it was. He stared at the four girls, smiling and laughing in a circle, sitting on the ground. Ruby and Yang were hugging each other. He felt his irratiol melt at the sight of that. God. He just couldn't stay mad at her for even five minutes. He smiled, took off his scroll, and used it to take a picture of the two of them. Just the two of them.

Maybe it would be a small, inconsequential thing to anybody else, but he would treasure that picture forever.


	9. Behind The Curtains

**Chapter Nine**

He was watching the girls play a board game. He had not interest in it, so he stayed in the sidelines and just watched. He could have took advantage of the moment to study or something, but he liked just watching them play. It was nice. Seeing them like this, it was easy to forget that they, first at foremost, were soldiers. He though about taking a picture, for a moment. But then they would ask why, and even if he didn't tell the truth, it would be embarrassing anyway. So he didn't.

"What's up, losers?" That voice. He remembered that voice. He turned, and saw that monkey Faunus coming towards them, holding his fingers in a peace sign. There was another boy at his side, which was not a Faunus. Or at least, not as far as he could see. But that didn't matter. Peace... like hell.

"Why did you do it?" Shirou asked. Ruby turned towards him, then to the Faunus. She frowned a little, but didn't say anything. She got back to the game.

"What?"

"I saw you. Don't try to play dumb. I'm not about to ask you again. If you had a good reason for it, I won't do a thing. I even help you, if you need my help. But if you say something like 'I did it because I could', then you're coming with me."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Headmaster already sold me out. So I had to pay the fee and everything."

"Oh, that's good. But I didn't heard your reason."

"Because I could."

"...You're really infuriating, you know that? What gives you the right to do whatever you want?"

"You're talking like I killed somebody."

"Don't change the argument. You did something bad for no good reason.. I understand that the law is not justice most of the time, but it this one, you have no grounds to stand on. I'm letting it go because you've already paid for it, if you're to be believed. Which I'm not sure..."

"He did." the boy said, cutting him off.

"Fine." Shirou rolled his eyes. "He did. Doesn't change his attitude is a serious problem."

"Oh, come on." Ruby protested. "Let it go. We're trying to play over here."

For an instant, Shirou considered going ahead with it, anyway. The monkey Faunus had to understand that he couldn't do those kinds of things. He had enough Lin to pay the fine, so he could have payed his ride without trouble. Which meant that he did such a thing for his own excitement, and that... that made him felt sick. He turned towards Ruby, and looked at those silver eyes. He let out a breath.

"Okay." he gave up, and extended his hand to the Faunus. "My name is Shirou Emiya. Pleased to meet you."

The other boy took his hand, and shook it.

"My name is Sun Wukong." he said. "I hope this will be the last time we been at each others throat."

"Yeah, I hope so too." he said, and let go of his had. Well. He seemed like kind of a douche, but as long as he didn't actually hurt people, he could tolerate him just fine. He couldn't get along with somebody who did something like that so casually, but tolerate, sure. Shouldn't been too hard. Sun looked straight at Blake.

"Never took you as the board game playing type."

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." she stood up, and left the room. Okay. Maybe it would actually been hard to tolerate him. Ruby watched her go, her expression unchanged, then she shrugged.

"Do you want to play, Shirou?" she asked him.

"Nope, sorry."

"Spoilsport."

* * *

He watched the rest of the game. They would have still played, even with only three people, but the other guy, Neptune, volunteered for it. He ended up winning, and Yang whining for all it was worth. They got back to their room. They almost forgot the board game, but he reminded them of it, and he ended up carrying it. Blake was there, sitting on the bed with her back against the wall. When they entered, she got out of the bed and went towards the door. He dropped the board game in the top of the desk.

"Stop." Weiss said, pointing at her, before he could say anything. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody! Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! So, what's wrong?"

"I just... I don't understand how everyone can be so calm."

"I'm not calm, Blake. I'm pissed off, and worried. Roman Torchwick has been a torn in the government's side for a quite some time. Same with the White Fang. Them joining forces spells out nothing good. I agree with you on that. I planned to go out patrolling at night, but you're up for it..."

"Wait, wait." Ruby protested. "You wanted to go patrolling alone?"

"Yes. But that's not the important part here. "

"I agree." Weiss said. "The important part is that we're students. We're not ready to handle this kind of situation."

"Well, yeah, but..." Ruby said.

"We're not ready!" she answered, cutting Ruby off.

"We may never be ready!" Blake yelled. "They aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. If we're going to do something about this, it has to be now."

"Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses-and Huntsmen- to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye."

"Aye." Shirou said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine." Weiss grumbled beneath her breath.

"Alright then, we're in this together!" Blake said.

"Only Shirou said aye." Ruby said, deflating. In the next instant, though, she looked as happy as ever. "Oh, well, whatever. Let's start planning."

"...That's surprisingly serious, coming from you. " Weiss said.

"You only say that because you're jealous of the vigor of young."

"I'm only two years older that you!"

"Sometimes it seems like you're thirty years older that me." she said, shrugging. "Anyway. Does anyone have suggestions?"

"Well, to start with," Weiss said. "I go check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies."

"That's a good idea."

"Also," Blake said. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"How do you even know that?"

"I was a member, back when it was an organization dedicated to being the voice of the Faunus, and peaceful." Blake confessed. Shirou was midly surprised, but he wasn't affected.

"...Okay. You should really have said that last time, but okay." she sounded put off, but calm. That was really strange, coming from Weiss. "Do you have any more surprises in store, or something?"

"No."

"That's good."

"I can go patrolling, like I was thinking." Shirou said. "See if I can dig something out. Also, my legal guardian, Taiga Fujimura, is the granddaughter of the boss of a Yakuza group in Japan. I call her and ask for help."

The three were staring at him like he had grow a second head. Though Ruby's expression was more interested that anything else, really.

"What?"

"You go about an Ally Of Justice this, Ally Of Justice that and your legal guardian is the granddaughter of a criminal?" Weiss asked, with an incredulous expression.

"His position is a problem, but Kiritsugu asked him to manage the estate after his death, so he can't be a bad person."

"You are... a little bit too trusting." Blake said. She shook her head. "Ah, well. Doesn't matter. That can be really helpful."

"I just try to ignore it, for the sake of my sanity." Weiss grumbled, putting a hand to her head.

"Shirou!" Ruby whined. "Why didn't you tell me that? I meant, why didn't you tell us that?"

"Nobody asked."

There was an awkward pause.

"So..." Ruby muttered, then raised her voice slightly: "Now than that's cleared out, we split out tomorrow and meet back here."

"What you're going to do?" Weiss asked.

"Coming with Shirou, of course." Ruby said, like it was only natural. He knew she didn't meant it like _that_ , but it made him felt good, anyway. "He's gonna get himself killed if I'm not there to get his ass out of the... well, you know."

"Do you really thing I have such thin skin?" Shirou jokingly asked. "Its only an expression, Ruby."

"Yeah, but... its a bit awkward to say that."

"Honestly." he let out a breath. "You're too kind for your own good."

Then, surprising even himself, he lifted a hand and warmly tussled her hair. She had opened her mouth to say something, but the retort died on her lips. She blushed a little, but didn't pull away. He didn't know what had possessed him to do something like that, but now he was glad. He liked her, and she did, too. That sense of solidarity wasn't a bad thing. Not at all.

He never once thought about the fact that both Blake and Weiss were watching.

* * *

Tomorrow, after classes, they prepared their weapons carefully and got into their civilian clothes. Ruby looked really nice. It was the first time he had seen her anything but her uniform and, to be honest, he liked what he saw. That sounded kind of dirty, but he didn't meant it that way. Really. It just... he couldn't put it to words. Those clothes made Ruby seem more like herself. Maybe he was being stupid, but he liked seeing her like that, like a normal girl. Almost an image of what she would have been, without having to carry the burden of her mother's death along with her distant dream. She was bound to this path because of her death.

It wasn't the same thing as him. Kiritsugu's death had caused the same thing to him, but it wasn't the same at all. Emiya Shirou had died and was rebirth in the fire. It wasn't a metaphor, but pretty close to the truth. He didn't have anything left in him. Kiritsugu's smile gave him life, purpose. A reason to live on. The empty shell had been filled by those ideals. Even if Kiritsugu hadn't died, he would have followed on this path. He knew it. He knew it even though it was starting to brother him than it was everything to him. So, no, it wasn't the same thing.

Weiss and Blake went on their separate ways, and he and Ruby went together. While walking through the streets of Vale, he pulled out his scroll and called Fuji-nee. It was a good thing that scrolls could not only communicate with each other but with plain old telephones. If that wasn't so, they would have to lose quite a bit of time so he could buy one. She picked it up immediately.

"Shirou. Its rare for you to call me at this hour." that was right. He called Fuji-nee once a week up to catch up, and normally he did so after classes ended. Oh, well. "Has something happened?"

She was impulsive and bubbly on the outside, but she was also really sharp.

"I need Raiga's help." Shirou answered. "Please, get in contact with him. Like, right now. Its urgent."

"What do you want, Shirou?"

"I need for him to look into the White Fang's activities. Have him give priority to Dust Robberies. Also, please, tell him to look for inconsistencies and other such things. We need all the help we can get."

"The White Fang, uh?" she bitterly muttered, low enough that he was sure she hadn't meant for him to heard it. Then, more loudly: "You never change, do you?" she laughed. "Oh, well."

"No, sorry. I am who I am." Shirou said. A small pause. "Listen. I know you're worried enough already, but this is something we need to do."

"We?" she sounded surprised, and a little happy.

"Yes. Me and my team. I've already told you about them. Or have you forgot?"

"I'm not that old." she chuckled. "So are they all with you?"

"No, just Ruby."

"Ruby... Shirou, I know you said is urgent. I'm going to inform Raiga right now, but could you pass the scroll to her? I want to talk."

"Uh?" he said, a bit hesitantly. He didn't see why not. "Sure." he held out his scroll to Ruby. She took it without question, and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh, you definitively sound like a cutie!" Fuji-nee fawned. Shirou blushed. He couldn't disagree with that, but still, she should have had tack. This was a serious situation.

"Thanks." she answered, after a moment, and blushing a little bit. It seemed like she wasn't used to being told how cute she was, except by her sister. Or that Fuji-nee had caught her off guard.

"You mind moving away a little so Shirou doesn't overhead?" she asked. Shirou frowned. He usually trusted Fuji-nee, but the tone in her voice spelled nothing good. He hoped she didn't say anything outrageous.

"...Sure." Ruby said, a bit confused. She moved a few meters to the left, but with reinforcing hearing, he could hear both of them. He should listening, so he could intervene if Fuji-nee said seemed about to say something outrageous. She had asked for privacy. It didn't felt right, so he didn't. He undid the reinforcement in his hearing, and, sighing, kept on walking. It would take him about a minute to apply it again.

The conversation lasted a few minutes. Every once in a while, he looked to the side, curious about what Fuji-nee was telling her. He still heard Ruby's voice, but what she responded never gave anything away. It was strange. He could even think what Fuji-nee wanted with Ruby, to begin with. Ruby's expression was growing more serious as the conversation went on. It wasn't much of an indication, but still, it was there. The only problem was that he couldn't honestly say if that was a good or a bad thing. When it finished, Ruby got at his side again-which, to be honest, relieved him more that anything else- and handed his scroll back to him.

"What did she say?" he asked, after a few instants, even though he knew it was surely futile. She was good people, after all. She wouldn't betray a promise like that.

"Its a secret." she said, turning to him with a small smile.

Oh, well.

Figures.

He felt his smile grow wider.

* * *

The patrolling didn't bear any results. Not what they wanted, anyway. They stopped a pair crimes. A man who stole who stole a woman's purse when they were passing by, and group of men who attempted to rob a store. He was glad to have helped, of course he was, but none of the criminals were related to the White Fang. It was night by the time they were finished.

He got a call from Fuji-nee's phone not too long after, and he answered. But it was Raiga the one at the other side of the line. The man told him everything his group at learned in that time. Ruby listened in too, of course. Though Raiga was normally carefree, much like his granddaughter, he didn't give Ruby no more that a glance and didn't say much more that the information he had requested.

The information was simple. They had acquired more, but he only saw fit that he should be informed of the most important thing. Roman Torchwick had acquired Atlesian Paladin-290, a mechanized battle suit developed with the aid of the Schnee's Dust Company. Raiga thought that it was to buy his favor with the other White Fang members, since he was a human, and Shirou was inclined to think he was right.

The raid of two days ago didn't prove anything. They had helped Torchwick, but that didn't meant they did so willingly. Merrily that they had obeyed orders from the upper command. So so he would have to make them see what he could bring to the table to make them accept him. Willing allies were better that unwilling allies. Willing allies were better that unwilling allies. That man wouldn't have lasted long in the criminal underworld without understanding that.

Also, Raiga thought that Roman would most probably present the Paladin in one of the regular meetings the group had. That made him remember Blake's words. If he was right, then that meant she was walking into such a mess alone, and completely unaware of how bad it would get. He thought about calling her right now, in his blind panic, but he soon realized than that would only make things worse for her. The man send coordinates to his scroll pointing to the more likely localizations of such meetings. Four, all in all. It wouldn't take them much time to check them up.

"I understand, Raiga. Thank you."

"Shirou..." he said, hesitantly. "Please, take care of yourself."

"Don't worry, old man." Ruby said, before he could even open his mouth. "I take care of him, even if he doesn't."

"Uh." Raiga's smile widened. "You're just like Taiga said you were. Thank you, young lady. I leave him in your hands."

Then he cut off the call. It was kind of frustrating that he didn't allow him to get a word in, but also somewhat nostalgic. It had been two years since he saw any of them, but Taiga was still Taiga and Raiga was still Raiga. He felt himself smile.

"Well." he muttered, putting the scroll back in his pocket. "Let's go, Ruby."

* * *

They checked at random. The first place was empty, and so were the second and the third. The fourth one, though, clearly wasn't. Even before getting close to the door, he could heard muffled voices coming from inside. No screams, the sound of metal grinding against metal or anything like that. A fight hadn't broke up. Blake had to be there, but they couldn't just march in. They would just fuck up all her efforts. He understood that implicitly. But as he had said, Ruby was too kind for her own good. He had stop her for barreling inside.

He had replied reinforcement to his hearing a long time ago, but even with that he would barely heard what was going inside. He only managed to catch a few scattered words that confirmed that there weren't other people inside, by coincidence, and this wasn't the place either. 'What's a human doing here?!', 'Atlesian Paladin', 'Our enemy is'. Things like that. They all were clear indication that Roman Torchwick and the White Fang were inside.

"Shirou?" Ruby asked, her voice low. "How are you sure this is the place?"

Shit, of course she would ask that. She didn't heard what he was hearing. He racked his mind, trying to find a suitable lie.

"It has to been, right?" Shirou said. "This is the last place Raiga indicated, and I trust him implicitly."

"That is the last place he indicated doesn't necessarily meant he was right. I meant, I got carried away at the beginning, so maybe it sounds like a joke, but is the truth."

Shirou bit his lip. Such a thing couldn't have gone past her. Of course not. She was far for stupid. Stil, he couldn't tell her. But he couldn't find a suitable lie.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, a hint of fear in her expression.

"Sorry." he let out a breath. "I guess is time to be honest with you. But please, promise me you will kept this a secret."

"I promise."

"And from the rest of the team too, Ruby. Its really important."

"...Okay, I promise you, Shirou." she had hesitated, but in the end she had trusted his words even though he was asking her to exclude the rest of her friends. That made him felt giddy, and, most of all, guilty for asking such a thing of her. But he couldn't felt like that. It was for their own good.

"To begin with, do you remember what I told you about my Semblance?" she nodded. "Well, that was only a half-truth. It does work like that, and its name is Projection, but its not my Semblance. I haven't discovered my Semblance, to begin with."

"W-what? Then did you do all of that?

"That was magic. Magecraft."

"A-are you... Are you being serious? Because it would be mean of you, to lie at at time like this."

"I'm not lying. I'm a magus, Ruby, as well as at Huntsmen. Kiritsugu was the one who taught me everything I know about magecraft... as for projection, I picked it up on instinct the two times I used it. The two times I really used it, anyway." now that he thought about it, that last sentence wouldn't make sense to her. Reinforcement was only a byproduct of Projection, so it could be said he had been using it even back then. In a sense.

"So... Magic is real. Then why aren't the magus helping us?"

"Why are you assuming that they aren't helping? They are the reason humanity retained so many on their lands against the Grimm."

"Why are they hiding?"

"Because spells grow weaker the more people that know them. They are not an infinite resource."

"So what? You're hiding it because of that, too? Because it would cause you problems?" she whispered back, harshly. He couldn't stand that look in her eyes. It clearly told him 'some hero you turned up to be'. She was probably holding herself back for saying that, too. But that didn't meant she didn't think it.

"Its not by choice. Listen, Ruby. Those people are monsters. They would send their Enforcers to wipe their memories off. In the past, they would have just killed them. But reducing humans would be bad idea for them, since the Grimm are a potential threat even to them."

"...I see. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"It really doesn't matter. That what I first thought when Kiritsugu told me about it, so you don't have to apologize. Still... you're taking this strangely well. You're not even questioning my sanity, or something like that. Why?"

"You told me, so of course it is the truth." she sincerely said, like it was only natural. He blushed brightly, and looked away. Those words. She trusted him so implicitly that she would even accept a wild story like that, because of course Shirou wouldn't lead her wrong. His vision blurred a little with unshed tears.

"Shirou?"

He opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what. And then he heard the lights go out from inside, shoots and not long after a window shattering. Then the whole fucking wall, and those mechanized noises that allowed him to draw the whole picture. Something had gone wrong. Blake had cut off the lights, somehow and threw herself through the window and Roman or some other pilot was following after her with the Atlesian Paladin. And in an instant, he saw that he had been right.

Blake turned the corner, with the Paladin hot on her heels. The pilot inside of it was Torchwick, without a doubt. Shirou took off his sword, without really thinking about it. Ruby had already prepared Crescent Rose and whirled past him using her Semblance to meet the war-machine head on. However, he wasn't worried about her chances. That weapon was made to kill Grimm. What could kill Grimm would kill Ruby if her Aura went down, but still, what was required to fight Grimm and what was required to fight a Huntress were different things entirely.

Ruby struck the Paladin right on the cockpit, but the scythe's sharp blade merely slid off the glass, and she had to propel herself over it by shooting backwards. The robots hands came to swipe at her, and she only narrowly managed to avoid it. It had happened in an instant, but to him it was eternity. His heart had almost burst out of his chest. After that scare, he looked. His reinforced vision left no room for doubt. The attack hadn't left even a scratch on the cockpit. Well. It was more durable that it looked, that was for fucking sure.

The streets were empty, for now, but still they couldn't fight here. He turned, and ran for it. Even if he realized he was trying to lead him into a more suitable environment for fighting, Roman would follow. That Shirou was so sure of it didn't have anything to do with enemy's confidence. It was just that, if he wanted his plan to succeed, he had to eliminate all three of them. Because they were witness.

Neither Blake nor Ruby needed to be told what he was doing. They turned, and ran for it, too. Ruby caught with him first, despite his head start. She would already been too far away for him to see her clearly even with his reinforced vision, but she choose to kept pace with Blake and him instead of going past them. Roman followed. The heavy footsteps of the robot shook the ground with great force. Shirou kept looking forward, and looked around, just in case an innocent bystander would stumbled into the scene. They came near a highway, and he looked down. Nearly twenty meters below, more or less, there was an expense of ground without anything it. That would be perfect for fighting that thing.

And then, suddenly, Weiss landed in a crouch between them and the robot, who was already closing it on them. He saw Roman smile in satisfaction. Weiss plunged Myrtenaster into the ground, summoning a circle of ice across the pavement that caused the Paladin to slip and crash. The momentum took it over the railing, and down, down below. Shirou jumped after it, and the rest soon followed. He landed in a crouch. Ruby and Weiss landed on his right, and Blake on his left side. They took positions as Roman got the robot to its feet.

It was huge, and bulky, but it was also quite fast. Ruby could still run circles around it any day of the week, figuratively as well as literally, but the rest of them weren't quite so lucky. One wrong move and they could and would be seriously hurt. He remembered the Emerald Forest. That strange sense of calm that had enveloped, the smell and felt of his own blood. He remembered the charging Nevermore, coming to end their life. His hands clenched around the handle of the sword so hard his knuckles turned white. No. This was different. They were a lot stronger now and, most importantly, a team. Roman Torchwick was finished.

They exploded into action. They were a team, that much was true, but this wasn't a book. They knew and understood each other to a certain extend, as far as personality went, and in fighting most of all, but they couldn't anticipate what the other was thinking or some bullshit like that, as if they were synchronized. So they had developed names from combination attacks, simple, easy to remember and fast to say, based on the colors they wore. Except for him. Since red and white were taken already, golden-brown was the color that represented him.

Ruby had been the one to come up with the names of all the combination attacks. As the leader, he kind of felt guilty about that. Those kinds of things were supposed to be his responsibility, but still, he had to admit he had no sense for that kind of thing. Coming up with a combination attack, sure, but not christen it.

The Paladin was fast, but not fast enough. Though that probably had more to do with the pilot that the machine. Either way, it didn't change than that alone, at least, was in their favor. They could avoid its attacks and slowly wear it down, no matter how durable it might be. The odds were in their favor.

Weiss moved forward, and he projected Myrtenaster in his free hand. He had discovered that, like all the weapons that used Dust, he wasn't actually using Dust for the attacks but activating the attacks the weapon had once performed using his magical energy as compensation. Not too long ago, that would have posed a problem. He wasn't even sure he would have had enough magical energy to perform even one of those attacks. But since the events at his old school, he had felt an influx of magical energy that left him bewildered. It had slowly build up until after the exam, but it had come. He had not idea why, but the point was that it was working.

"Freezer Burn!" He shouted. It was kind of embarrassing to say, even more in actual combat situation, but he just thought of them as peculiar Aria's. That made it easier. Not less embarrassing, but easier.

Weiss plunged her weapon into the ground, and he jumped over her, using the memory of the Red Dust to hit the epicenter of it. The destruction created a wave of mist that surrounded the war-machine, taking away his line of sight. That wold be really effective against Grimm, but since the opponent was riding that machine, he had not illusions that it would last long. He had to have something to circumvent that. But that was fine, too. In the end, like he had said, Roman wasn't fast enough.

"Checkmate!" Shirou called out, seeing the opportunity.

Weiss and Blake went at it, this time. They attacked the Paladin's legs, but didn't do visible damage. Weiss launched herself into the air with one of her white glyphs, and launched Blake an instant later. Missiles shot off from the machine towards them, but they managed to dodge them. They landed safely. Weiss casted a beam of light from her weapon under Blake's feet. The energy was adsorbed into her, and she sliced every missile that came at her without problem. It hadn't gone that well, but it didn't really matter

"Ladybug!" he yelled, trying to make himself heard.

Ruby speed up forward, using her Semblance, hit the robot's legs, came to the other side and immediately turned. Blake and her both dashed forward and attacked at the same time, over and over again, circling each other around its legs. They jumped, and it its shoulder at the same time, sending its arm flying. It the ground, and stopped when it hit a column of the highway. He held his breath. It cracked, but it didn't break. Thankfully. He didn't even want to think the mess that would have been made if he did. So many lives would be lost... he was starting to regret fighting under the highways, of all places, with so many cars there. But the truth was that there really wasn't any other place more suitable for fighting without serious risk of somebody getting hurt or worse. Not a place close enough to not be a problem, at least.

The Paladin swung at them with its remaining hand. Blake avoided it in the air, but Ruby got hit head on. She went flying, giving out a startled yelp, and hit the ground hard with Crescent Rose still firmly clenched between her hands. He was just surprised and glad that, even though she was definitively feeling the hit, she hadn't been knocked out of cold. Still. He gritted his teeth so hard he felt one of his back teeth crack. She wasn't badly hurt, but he was so enraged he would have killed Roman in he had got is hands on him in that instant. Fortunately, he didn't have him in his hands, so he would calm down and not do something stupid. The better punishment for that would be to capture, so he could be throw in jail for the rest of his life.

The war-machine stepped forward, and raised its foot, intending to crush Ruby under it. Shirou got between them, threw away his sword and then projected Crescent Rose just in time to intercept the mechanical appendage with both weapons. His arms strained under the weight, but didn't give it. With a strained yelp, he somehow managed to push the foot back. The war-machine staggered, trying hard to rebalance itself. He jumped, shooting at the cockpit with the sniper-scythe at the same time. By the time he got close to the cockpit, ten shoots had already been discharged against it. He hit it with the sniper-scythe and the rapier and the same time, using the dark blue Dust. The cockpit was covered in a sheet of ice. He propeller himself up using Crescent Rose's massive recoil, and hit the ice at his center with the two weapons. This time, he used the Red Dust.

The ice shattered, breaking the cockpit with it. Roman went flying out of it, and hit the ground hard. The war-machine, now without a pilot, went spinning out of control and stopped about twenty meters away. It had nearly reached a nearby building, but now it was just there, in the middle of the street. It was still a bit of danger, but that would be taken care off later. He approached the cornered, defenseless thief. The other three did to, intending to surround him in a circle. That smile. It didn't fit at all. Shirou tensed, preparing for anything.

A woman suddenly dropped in front of the thief, without warning. He hadn't barely saw her before she landed. She was short, shorter that all of them, even Ruby. Her hair was black in the right side, and pink in the left with a little bit of white, which was just plain bizarre. One of her eyes was brown, and the other pink. She bowed, clearly mocked them, a self satisfied smile on her face.

"Neo," Roman barked. ", do it!"

Ruby dashed past them in a whirl of roses, and struck. But even so, it came a moment too late. Neo unfolded her weapon, an umbrella, and stopped her attack in its tracks. He hardly believed his eyes, but he couldn't deny what was in front of him. Ruby, startled, couldn't react in time. So Neo punched her in the gut. There was a sickening _crack_. Her bones. That was clearly the sound of when bones break. Ruby hands went to her stomach. She gagged, gasping for air, and went down.

"What are you doing, you stupid bitch?!" Roman screamed. "This is not the time for that! Lets go!"

The words washed over him. He didn't care. He didn't care what he had to say about it, nor that bitch. A roar. He ran for them, propelling himself forward using Crescent Rose's massive recoil. He was already in front of his enemy by the time he realized that animalistic roar had come out his mouth. Neo's smile widened, just a little bit. He roared again, and struck. The _thing_ in front of him managed to block his attack. He broke through the barrier, and struck true... the two people in front of him shattered as if made of glass. He froze. He turned, just in time to see a Bullhead in the sky. Roman was there, sitting inside and Neo was in front, at the edge, one hand gripping the side of it to support herself. She waved at him.

"We will meet again, little magus." he heard her words clearly, even over the roar of the aircraft.

The Bullhead went away. They disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving him cold, shaking, and pondering her words... and what would that meant for all of them.


	10. In Line

**Chapter Ten  
**

Silence settled between them, broken only by the noises of the cars above them, who continued on their way like nothing had happened. Emiya Shirou hadn't moved an inch. For how long, he didn't know. He only knew that he was still staring at the spot where he lost track of the Bullhead, chewing her words over and over in his head. Little magus. That was what Neo had called him. Which meant that she and her organization were aware of what was hidden beneath the normal texture of things: the moonlit world. Neo was clearly nothing but a soldier, so it was only natural that Roman and the leader of the White Fang, at least, had to know too.

He tried to shake her words aside, that sense of danger he wouldn't really place. He was overreacting. Magi were secretive, and hostile and wouldn't be caught dead joining the Huntsmen and Huntresses on their mission. They protected the human race from the Grimm, but they did so with their own methods and, in any case, the only reason for that was that if they overwhelmed the rest of the world they would overwhelm them too. Mere self-preservation. So the interest that petite woman had in meeting him again was understandable, since he was an anomaly.

And yet there was more to it. He could felt it. He didn't know how, but his heart understood that there was something he was missing. Her words. That smile. Her unnatural strength, which had managed to knock Ruby out cold, almost making her choke, when a direct hit from the Paladin had only left her stunned for a few seconds before she was back in the fight.

Wait.

He turned and kneeled next to the unconscious Ruby, forgetting all about that girl's words. The only that mattered to him about that was regret that it had made him forget about Ruby, even though it hadn't been much more that a minute. He brushed her hair out her eyes first, and then checked her pulse. It was stupid, and he knew that. That woman couldn't have killed her just by that, so she was definitively alive. Still, hearing her pulse calmed him a little. He let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Now than that was over and done with, he had to check how many bones that monster had broken, to see if it was alright to move her. He put a finger on her stomach, in the area where Neo had punched her, and pressed. Ruby let out a slight moan of pain, and stirred, but she didn't cry up nor suddenly waked up. That one was damaged a little, but it wasn't broken.

He checked the bones around that area, slowly, carefully. He could have used Structural Analysis, but he hadn't ever used it on living beings and, to be honest, he wasn't even sure if it worked like that. He finished in a few minutes. That punch had broken two of her bones. Nothing serious, all things considered, but it would hurt like hell for a little while. Her Aura must be nearly depleted, at this point. He bit his lip. He didn't want to move her and cause her pain, but they couldn't remain here either. For an instant, he considered asking Blake or Weiss, even ordering them, to carry her instead of him. Only for an instant. He didn't have the right to push his responsibility onto other people. Not now, not ever. So he had to do it himself. It was all right. She just had to be moved carefully, and she wouldn't suffer too much pain.

He picked her up. He remembered that night, not too long ago, when he had carried her and put her to bed after she had fallen asleep. He recalled her face framed by moonlight, her hand squeezing his own and the things she had confessed to him. In a twisted sort of way, this situation was must like that day. Thinking about that only gnawed at him all the more. The rest of the team approached, without saying anything. Perhaps they hadn't thought of anything they could say in this kind of situation.

"Damn." Weiss muttered, breaking the silence, her eyes fixed on Ruby's unconscious body. "I... damn."

"You can say that again." Shirou bitterly said, and let out a hollow little laugh. He protectively drew her even close against his chest. "Let's... Let's just head back."

They started walking back to Beacon in silence. They could have moved faste, but didn't want to risk aggravating her injuries. While walking through the dark streets, he looked down at Ruby's unconscious body. He wondered what he could say when she woke up, and what would she say when she woke up. He wished every instant that she would wake up already, regardless of what would happen. He didn't think about Roman and Neo's escape, not really. He just wanted her to be awake, happy and smiling. Was he greedy?

Of course he was. The answer was so obvious he didn't event have to think about it. He couldn't stand seeing her unhappy, hurt or anything like. He wanted for her to share all his weight with him, but he just couldn't stand seeing her in that state. She was human. She couldn't be happy forever, no matter what he did. Doing otherwise was out of his reach, out of anybody's reach. It was the simple truth of humanity. And yet he wished for that, anyway. More and more, he was finding himself putting her above everything else more and more... he wished he could say that. No, he was putting _himself_ above everything else. He sighed. His head was a jumbled mess. It had be since Blake had said those words. The ground had been sweep under his feet, and now he didn't know where he stood.

Sometime during their way back to Beacon, Ruby stirred in his arms, mumbling something in her sleep that he didn't quite catch. He looked down. She was frowning, and a tear was running down her cheek. She said it again. It was barely vocalized, but he could read her lips. Mother. That was what she had said. He bit his lip. He stopped in his tracks, put a hand on her shoulder and shook her light. She opened her eyes almost immediately. They were wide and round for an instant, then she relaxed.

"Shirou?" she called out to him, hesitantly, as if not sure if she was dreaming or not.

"I'm here." he said. "I'm okay, we all are. Don't worry."

"What..." she took a deep breath. "What happened? I..."

"That woman. She punched you in the gut, and incapacitated you. After that, I tried to go after her but they had already vanished. Must be her Semblance, but just for that I can't be sure of the details of her powers."

"Well. What a colossal waste of time." the bitterness in her voice was quite clear to him. He frowned, a little. It was only natural for her. He realized that quickly. She had seen her mother died miserably, but that didn't meant much. In the end, she had took this path because her admiration towards her mother and her death. Her image had guided Ruby for all her life. And even though she had seen her at her weakest, in the throes of dead, to her mother still was her image of streght. The image she would have to hold up to if she was to light up the darkness. That she had been defeated so soundly, without even realizing it, had left her cold, shaken. And most of all, terrified her life would also end that way.

"Don't say that. We have destroyed their Atlesian Paladin, even though they have escaped. So we have took one off their best weapons. Something is something."

"I guess."

"Please, Ruby. Look at me." she looked up at him, and held his gaze. "You couldn't have prevented it. The Paladin hitting you was only luck, and that girl only managed to knock you out because she caught you off guard. Now that we know what to expect, it won't happen again. That's valuable, no matter how you think about it. We might not have accomplished much, but we have taken the first step. Isn't that good enough?"

"...She shouldn't have caught me off guard, to begin with."

"Is not your fault. Your Semblance is speed. You couldn't have anticipated she could react in time to block your attack." he finished, then winced. He really should have chosen his words better. But she looked fine, so maybe she hadn't taken it that way. Thank good for small mercies.

"Still, its not excuse. I should have reacted. She ain't faster that me. I would have reacted in time, if only I didn't stand there like an idiot."

"Ruby..." he sighed. "That girl is not normal. I don't why," his voice lowered. Blake might be able to heard, was with being part cat and everything, but well. If she did, he could always make some excuse. "or if she is even human, to begin with. And by that, I don't meant that I'm wondering if she's a Faunus. But the point is that she isn't normal. You can't blame yourself for that."

"She's one of...? You know. And that was why she was so fast and strong?"

"I'm not sure, actually." she might be a magus. He couldn't discard that possibility, since she hadn't used magic at any point. Her words made him doubt it, though. But Ruby didn't need to know that. "I'm only know that she has to have... something, Dunno what."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You're..." she sounded weak and vulnerable. "You're not just saying that to comfort me, right? Because if you're trying to shield from the harsh truth, that's... I already told you what I think about that."

"No, I'm not just saying that to comfort you." he answered, only half-truthfully. Neo wasn't normal, that much was obvious, but the only reason he had bothered to say it was to comfort her. "I know she isn't normal. I meant, she's so tiny, and with your Aura still up she knocked you unconscious with a punch to the gut, breaking several bones..."

"She did what?" she suddenly moved, and winced.

"She broke two of your bones." he said, as calmly as he could. Which wasn't much. Concern was clear in his voice. "Don't move so suddenly. Your Aura is working on it, but until then you risk furthering your injuries if you do that."

"Yeah, okay."

"You know," a small pause. "I kinda expected you to be embarrassed, and demand that I put you down anyway."

"Oh, no." she said, and chuckled wholeheartedly. She closed her eyes, and snuggled her face against him. "I'm okay with this."

He blushed, and all thoughts were pushed aside. He just kept on walking. Weiss and Blake looked at them with strange smiles, but didn't say anything. He was really grateful for that. If any of them had said anything about it, he would have seriously exploded from embarrassment.

Ruby felt sleep not too long after that, which only made him more embarrassing and strangely happy. She was so relaxed around she could sleep easily in his arms. The very thought brought a goofy smile to his face, despite that he was acutely aware that tonight's plan hadn't been worth all that much, and that Roman and the White Fang were still a clear threat. He couldn't help it. Her happiness was his happiness.

Not too long after they entered Beacon, Ruby waked up again.

"Are we there yet?" she muttered, and then yawned.

He laughed.

"Yeah, we are here already." he paused. The relief that he felt because she was joking around almost had made him forget the most important thing. "How are you?"

"Dunno. I'm feeling pretty comfortable, though." she grinned up at him, making him blush brightly. That smile made him think of a cat, oddly enough. He hadn't never once thought that whenever he saw Blake smile.

"Ruby, seriously, do you think the broken bones are fine already?"

"Uh." a small pause. "I think so. I don't felt any discomfort, nor pain. Then again, I'm not moving. Why are you so eager to get that answer, though?" her lips pursued into a thin line. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

Shirou spluttered, trying to find an answer that wouldn't dig his own grave even deeper. Ruby just laughed.

"I wouldn't never..."

"Of course not." her laughter resumed. "But it was worth it, just to see your face. You're so serious, most of the time..." she raised a hand, and caressed his cheek. He didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything. He didn't move, either. "Every time I see you can also make that kind of expression, it makes me a little happy."

"Ruby?"

"Yes?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm sorry if I make you worry about that."

"Nah, don't be sorry. I'm already accustomed to that, thanks to Weiss. Besides." she winked. "Its part of your charm."

He didn't get embarrassed, this time. He felt himself smile at her pure show of honesty and kindness.

"Thank you." he warmly said.

* * *

Ruby didn't ask to be put down, and he didn't particularly want to do it, either, so he carried her all the way to their room. Weiss and Blake kept looking back at her, every once in a while, but they didn't say anything. Ruby was alive and well, but what happened to her was evidently still clear in all of their minds. Every time they turned a corner, he almost expected to stumble into the Headmaster or Glynda, demanding to know what was going on, but it didn't happen. They reached their room without any complications.

He went to put her down on her bed while Weiss closed and locked the door behind them. Ruby pouted, but didn't say anything about it. It was late enough that she knew she had no ground to protest-not than that had ever stopped her, of course. Impulsively, he went to grab Ruby's hands in with his. She let him.

"Everybody." Shirou said. "I think we should tell the Headmaster."

"I don't think we could hide it from him from much, anyway." Weiss said. "Better to tell him now. I'm with you on this."

"I think so, too." Blake said. "If nothing else, we should tell the Headmaster because he needs to know what the White Fang has been up to."

"Count me in, also." Ruby said.

"I expected as much." he answered, after a small pause. "Just wanted to be sure everyone was in agreement before going ahead with it. So..."

"If anything," Blake interjected. "we should go together. Ruby can stay here, but we have to tell him all about the investigation, and we haven't had time to breathe, let alone share what we learned."

"On our case, we didn't learn anything." Ruby sheepishly confessed. "We stopped a few crimes, and found the White Fang's hideout because of Raiga, but nothing else."

"I have the information that was given to me in my scroll." Weiss said. "There's really no need to send everyone there. I can just give it to whatever its going to get there. Or, you know, kept it if it turns to be me."

"Let's just go together." Ruby said. "I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that you might be getting in trouble, anyway, so..." she shrugged, as if saying 'it can't be helped'.

"Well..." he let out a breath. "Fine."

Shirou stood up. Ruby pretty much jumped out of bed, but she winced in pain and fell back down. She stared up at them, a shaky smile in her face.

"Oops."

"You're staying here." Shirou said.

"Shirou, come on!"

"No buts. If you can't sleep like this, then don't, but is clear is best if you don't move around for now."

"But..."

"Ruby, _please_." he was begging, because he really didn't like the idea of her walking around and worsening her injuries because she was stubborn, of all things. He could have endured it, somehow, if she had a good reason to move around in her state, but she didn't have one. She opened her mouth, closed it and laid back down.

"Fine."

"Thank you." he answered, smiling. "Good night, Ruby."

"Good night."

He stood, turned and went from the door. Weiss and Blake followed him. They went to look for the Headmaster. At this time, he would be asleep, but this was important. The Headmaster's room was just beside his office. He knocked, and waited. No response. He knocked harder.

This time, the Headmaster opened the door. His silver air was messy, and he was clothed in rather ill-fitting pajamas. He looked at three of them for a moment, then told them to wait and closed the door before any of them would get a word in. A pair of minutes later, Ozpin came back, holding a set of keys. He seemed half-sleep, but he didn't waste any time. He opened the door, and the three of them followed him inside. He asked them to tell him what was going on.

Shirou carefully explained everything, leaving Raiga out of the whole story. He hadn't said a word about that to them before, so he was surprised that Weiss didn't say anything. He was sure Blake would haven't said anything, since she understood those things, but Weiss strove to be clean, pure. As white as her name. It was another sign that she cared about him, despite her surly exterior, so he felt happy.

He was kind of superfluous, since he didn't have much to add. He merely recapped everything that had happened from his perspective. He could have warned the Headmaster about Neo, but he couldn't really explain that, and simple telling him that she had knocked Ruby out of cold in a single hit was enough of a warning.

After Shirou finished speaking, Blake added the details about what she had seen and heard in the White Fang meeting. Then Weiss transferred the appropriate documents in her scroll into the Headmaster's computer. During that whole process, the Headmaster hadn't said anything. He looked at the computer's screen for about a minute or so, then told them that they could leave. He didn't get angry, or anything like that.

They went back to their room. He couldn't think of anything to say, and neither of them said anything, so the walk back was spend in silence. It wasn't a bad kind of silence, though. Not entirely. They got into the room. Ruby was sleeping. She was snoring softly, and muttering something inneteligble He locked it, and they laid down on their respective beds. They said good night to each other, but he didn't even close his eyes. He was there, looking up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts for minutes. Sometime after that, how much he couldn't guess, he closed his eyes.

* * *

He didn't dream about anything. Not about the fire, or anything else. It was pleasant that, for once, he had such luck. He even sleep through the rest of the night without waking up even once. That morning, they found that Ruby's bones had healed during the night. She hadn't no more problems with walking. He had made her do so a few times, just in case the injuries weren't completely healed. She had done so without wincing, nor any noticeable changes to her posture. Even then, he checked those two bones, just to be sure. He was overreacting. Ruby said as much. And Weiss. And even Blake. But he just couldn't help it.

Classes passed like normal. He expected for his team to be ordered to go to the Headmaster's office, so they would get news about last night's mess, but that didn't happen. It was just another normal day, like nothing of yesterday had happened. It was silly, really, but it was a little disorienting to him.

As usual, his favorite class was dueling. Even with that said, today's class was a spectacle. Pyrrha Nikos was fighting against team CLDR-Cardin's team- by herself, and she was quite clearly the superior fighter. She got the upper hand pretty quickly, and didn't let go of it. No matter how much those poor bastards tried, she was simply on a whole different level than then. She clearly showed the champion she was, in front of the first years. And the transfer students too, of course. Not too long after, she ended the match.

To be honest... Shirou had always looked for that king of thing, even before he had saw Cardin's stunt. He tried as hard as he could to kept that idiot in check, but couldn't observe him for all the day. For every time he stopped him, there had to be another time when he had gotten away with it. It was frustrating. So it was wholeheartedly satisfying to see him so humiliated.

As embarrassing as it was to say, her display at pumped him up and after last night's mess, he felt the need to show off a little. Or for his whole team to show off a little, since if Glynda had allowed a four against one fight she would obviously allow a team fight. In any case, when she asked for a volunteer, he raised his hand. He knew even without looking at them from the corner of his eye that the three girls were surprised. It was only natural. Of all the fights he had got into so far in this class, he had been challenged. He hadn't never once took the initiative.

"Uh." Glynda curtly said. "I suppose you two will fight each other, then."

That was odd. He looked and, yup, sure enough, there was another boy who had raised his hand. He didn't recognize him, but that didn't necessarily meant anything. He didn't have the uniform, sure, that was a clue on some level, but he couldn't be sure that meant he was a transfer student. It would just meant that he intended to test himself against somebody in particular, so he was already prepared for battle. Which made it more likely, actually. If somebody like him wanted to prove himself against somebody, he would have done so long ago.

"Actually..." the other boy said. "I think I'll pass."

That was... odd. Not that he cared, but if the boy's aim was to prove himself it didn't really make sense to turn down a fight. It would make him look like a coward. He couldn't never think that about somebody, and for such flimsy reasons, but he hadn't not illusions, either. That was how the majority of people were. Then again, it wasn't exactly surprising. Whoever that boy wanted to fight, it wasn't him.

"You've already raised your hand, you can't..."

"Then I surrender. Is that acceptable, or not?"

"Wow, Shirou." Ruby whispered to him, so she wouldn't be overhead. "That transfer student is scared shitless of you." she chuckled. "You're such a beast."

"Well, fine." Glynda said. "Then, Mister Emiya, let's find you an opponent."

He didn't intervene to ask for a specific opponent. He didn't really have somebody in mind... well, that wasn't true. He wanted to fight Pyrrha, to see how he stacked up against a champion of four consecutive years, but she had just fought a battle against four people at the same time by herself. It had looked effortless for her, but a fight between them wouldn't be fair since she had to been a bit tired. So he didn't. Even if she wasn't all that tired, he wouldn't have asked, anyway. It just... It would be wrong.

The randomly chosen opponent turned up to be some other boy he didn't know. Still, that wasn't reason to be disappointed. He could prove to someone worthwhile to fight against. He could, but it didn't happen. Shirou went to the match, intending to use only his own weapon at the begin, to test if he could do the fight without projection. In all his major battles, he usually relied on projection, on the skills the other weapons inherited. So he wanted to push his own limits.

Still, though, he was being too good. Far better that he had any right to be. The projected weapons drove him with instinct, but that didn't meant he didn't learn anything about it. The movements he had performed had almost become second nature to it, and even though the weapons weren't the same, some of the skill from that was carried. He could see it himself. The improvement he was showing, fighting by himself, was something he would have reached after more years of training. And he had made that leap in a few months. So, his opponent fell quickly. He barely lasted more that two minutes.

It was underwhelming.


	11. Widening Fissures

**Chapter Eleven**

Weiss and Blake had been chosen to organize the upcoming dance. Blake didn't want to have anything to do with it, of course, and Ruby didn't really care for that kind of thing either, so Weiss had to settle for him as a replacement. As much as he was willing to help, he didn't have a sense for those kinds of things, so he had ended up becoming a glorified pack-mule. Put this here, put this there, oh, no, put it over there and so and so on. Not that he minded, actually. It was nice to help people, and even though he didn't have no interest of going to the dance, it would make many people happy. He was glad, for the bottom of his heart, that he had the opportunity to help with it.

But such thoughts didn't not fill his head. What filled his head was Blake. Well, not really. Ruby was the reason he was thinking so much about Blake right now, even though it was a little embarrassing to admit. He just didn't want to see Ruby sad, and Blake was running herself ragged with investigating the White Fang and Torchwick. He was thinking of the best way to approach the situation. He was concerned about her, of course he was. He wasn't as close to her as he was to Ruby, but she was an teammate and, more importantly, she was his friend. He didn't like seeing her like that anymore that he liked seeing Ruby sad. Still, what he wanted the most was get the situation over and done with so Ruby could smile again. Man. He really was getting greedy.

He tried to concentrate on his work, but he couldn't. His thoughts kept running to that, and he looked over his shoulder every once in a while towards the sulking Ruby sitting at one of the tables. He kept turning back, but he also kept doing that. Weiss didn't notice. Or at least, she pretended not to notice. He really wasn't sure. One of the times he did, he ended up noticing Weiss, whose face was half-turned to the side. He stared. The scar in her eye was faded, but still visible. He couldn't do nothing about Blake until he finished things here, but maybe he could do something about her. He had always been curious about it.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." she didn't protest. He didn't know when it had started to happen, but he noticed not too long ago that she had started smiling more around all three of them. That was good. It made her less guarded. During the first months, when he looked at her he always had the sense she was ready to pick a fight, so it was nice to see her like that every once in a while. Even though she was still kind of cranky. But well, that was just part of who she was. As much as he liked Ruby, he understood Weiss couldn't be like her, who greeted even strangers with a wide grin.

"That scar on your left eye..." she tensed. "How did that happen?"

Weiss closed her eyes, took a deep breath, released it and opened them again. He noticed her hands were trembling, just a little bit.

"If you don't want to, you don't..."

"No, no." she interjected. "I have been preparing for this, since you told us about your past. I meant, you and Blake did it, so it was only natural Iwould do it too. But I kept putting it off, telling myself that it wasn't the right time for that and..." she let out a breath. "I have to say it right now. I don't think I'll be capable of telling anybody, if I stop now."

Ruby. He thought about Weiss words, and then about telling her. He didn't like the idea at al, but Weiss needed his help, their help, and having another one of her teammates listen to her could do her much good. Push had come to shove, far earlier that he had expected. He would have laughed, but it wasn't funny at all.

"Do you want to..."

"No, don't call Ruby. The last thing she needs, now of all things, is another reason to worry." he felt his smile grow wider at that. There was also shame for leaving the decision in her hands, instead of actually dealing with his problem. Weiss was a better team-player that most gave her credit for. Even he himself, really. He had expected her to get mad because she hadn't be chosen as the team leader, but she hadn't said anything about that. "Kept this between us, for now. At least until the situation with Blake is out of the way. Or maybe never. That would be better. The whole thing is a bit... fucked up, so I don't want to give her a reason to storm the Schnee's headquarters."

He expected her to chuckle or something, but not. She hadn't meant that last sentence as a joke. Now he was really getting nervous. He didn't know what to think anymore.

"I'm gonna tell this from the beginning... no, to be honest, I'm looking from excuses to get a few things out of my chest. But if digress too much, stop me. Okay?"

"Okay." he said, without really feeling it. No way he would interrupt her. He wanted to heard every word she had to say, because it would help him understand her and, most of all, she needed to say it for her peace mind.

"When I thought about telling this to you three, I was really nervous that you would even laugh. Think of it as petty. I meant, I don't even know if what I have to say compares to the fire nor what Blake has to dealt with. And I was born into a rich family. I had everything I wanted to have. But." she bit her lip. "Since I had any conscious of myself, I was trained to be a proper lady. How to walk, the little rituals of courtesy of the high class, how to dance. I started singing when I was five. I didn't like singing. I still don't. But that didn't matter, since my father wanted it. And for what? Because I had to be a proper lady. Well mannered, beautiful, polite, graceful. A woman who would be perfect, unreachable. Pure like snow. Only that kind of person deserved to inherit the Schnee Dust Company. I was allowed to got outside. I wasn't a prison... technically. But bodyguards followed me around, and I wasn't allowed to interact with normal people. Just with other rich kids.

I wasn't interested in what they had to say, in the life they wanted to live. I just wanted to felt loved, but I knew I wouldn't get that from them. I was just one more piece of the puzzle from them, of the way their life had been laid out by the snotty rich people they had for parents. Piece... that was more literal, when it came to the boys. Surely their parents told them to try to curry my favor, so that marriage would happen between us and their family would rise in standing. Nobody looked at me because I was me, but because I was a Schnee.

I wanted some kind of... warm. But father never hugged me, told me he loved me or anything like that. He didn't even praise me when I got something right. Still doesn't. And my mother... I like to think that she loved me. I loved her, too. But she spend so much time as a Schnee, as snow, that she clearly forgot what warm was."

Shirou bit his lip. He could see the suffering in her eyes, and also he knew he couldn't make things better. Her mother was already dead, and he couldn't change her father, his family. There was nothing he would to compensate for the kind of childhood he had. That sense of isolation and being worthless. He had felt like that once, too.

"When I was old enough to hold a sword, I was given Myrtenaster and I trained with the best, because my father wanted it. The training was hard. They didn't pull any punches, even though I was only eight years old. I was really hard to hold, since it was heavier that me, but my father didn't really care. The point was that I could hold it, one way or another, and I had to start learning. My mother hadn't not say in it. My instructors didn't care either, because my father was paying them a lot of money. I almost fainted at the end of the first lesson. I went to complain to father, and he only told me to stop whining. That a Schnee had to be strong. It felt like a kick in the teeth.

So I went ahead, trying to become strong. I set aside all the aspirations I had, the illusions that my life would be mine, and by the time I was twelve, I surpassed even my instructors. One day, he made one of the instructors take me outside of Vale for training against Grimm. I held my own but an Ursa managed to knock me down to the ground. I was good, but there just too many for me to handle because I lacked real experience and because I was still a child. My Aura was already depleted. And its claws slowly made that scar in my left eye, like it was enjoying it. I screamed, screamed, screamed. When the sensation of its claws on my skin stopped, the area around my left eye felt like it was on fire, and so much blood was flowing from the injury that I had to close that eye to see correctly. One of the instructors rescued me, and took me back to the headquarters.

I clearly remember that I waked up hearing his voice. He was shouting at father. That he would sue it, that I was just a child. That such a thing was inhumane treatment. He didn't have the right to do it. I remember feeling happy somebody had stood up to me. But that happiness didn't last long. I never saw him again. Nobody did."

Shirou's head almost started spinning. He felt sick. He felt so sick he could puke his own guts out.

"I couldn't stand living there anymore, so I became a Huntress. He wouldn't have left me go, if I couldn't become the best in the academy. It would be a stain in the family. But I could, so he left me go. I thought that, maybe, in this way I would take back what was mine. My life. That I wouldn't live tied down by what other people wanted me to be."

"Weiss, I..." he swallowed. He didn't know what he could say. He would destroy the Schnee corporation, for their actives and what they had done to her. Her story only furthered his resolve. But for now, it would have been only an empty promise. She didn't need such a thing.

"I'm not finished." she softly said, unshed tears shining in the corner of her eyes. He didn't say anything about it. She didn't, either. "I was only a foolish hope. The academy was like everywhere else, but at least I had more room to breath. Then you came. And Ruby, and Blake. Neither of you cared about who I was, but about me. I was... so happy. I know I'm difficult, most of the time. But I can't help it. Really, I try, but... I suppose there's still some remains of that education. I meant, first day, in Professor Port's class I got mad with Ruby because she was being attentive, lazy and made a rude drawing of him. Because... Because I envied her. She could be like that, and still be strong." she closed her eyes. "I'm messed up, like I said. I just I'm just afraid of looking down, and finding out that there's no ground below my feet but melting snow... and I will be left to wonder just how long will the fall be. But you all have done much for me. So thank you. And thank you for tolerating me. Pass my thanks to Ruby when its appropriate. And to Blake, too.

"...I will." he said. "And you really don't have to thank me, or Ruby or Blake. They would appreciate it, that's for sure, but they did it because they are good people and nothing else. We're your teammates, Weiss. And we will stick together."

Then, he suddenly hugged her.

"Hey, you idiot." she harshly whispered. "Let go of me. I appreciate it, but Ruby's going to misunderstand if she sees it, and she really doesn't need that. Especially at a time like this."

"Sorry." he muttered, and let got of her. He didn't actually understand what was she talking about, but well. Better safe that sorry.

Weiss went away, towards Ruby, carrying two tablecloths of different colors of similar or outright identical shades of white. Ruby was still hunched over, her head almost buried between her hands. She either didn't heard Weiss coming, or pretend like she didn't. Weiss, smiling perhaps a little too widely, put the tablecloths of the table.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Ruby raised her head, and looked at the objects in front of her for a few seconds. Then she looked up, confusion clear in her face.

"Aren't they both the same?"

"I don't even know why I asked." Weiss said, then sighed, in what seemed like fake frustration. At least, to him. Then she walked away. Shirou had finished what he had to do while Weiss told him her story, so he approached Ruby's table.

"Ruby." he said, and she looked up at him. Her expression brightened a bit, but it didn't hide the sadness. "I'm going to look for Blake, see if I can convince her to go the dance. Even if it has to been by herself. Can't promise anything, but I'll try my best."

Ruby had asked Blake, not too long ago, if she was thinking to go to the dance and she had only answered that she didn't have time for a stupid dance. That it was only a colossal waste of time. To be honest, he didn't really care if Blake went to the dance or not. He himself wasn't thinking of going, even though he knew he would go anyway. But there were a lot of signs that worry him about her. She couldn't sleep most of the time, and hardly eaten. And her grades had fallen a lot, too. He didn't much care about grades, but if her grades fell lot enough, next years she could get kicked up off Beacon.

"That's all I can ask." she said. "Thank you."

"Hey," he shrugged. "I have to act like the leader I am every once in a while, right?"

"Right." she smiled, and laughed. The sound and that sight made his heart beat faster.

"Ouch." he complained, smiling like a loon. "See you later, you fox."

"See you later, Shirou." she said, and waved him goodbye as he went towards the door. He waved back.

* * *

The library was far for full, most of the time. The times where it got them most traffic was a few days before an exam, and even them not that many people visited it. Today was not exception. He found Blake sitting by herself, in front of a computer. He didn't look over her shoulder to see what she was doing. What he took notice off was that her head occasionally bobbed up and down. It was quite clear that she was struggling to kept her eyes open. She seemed really out of it. He approached her, and stopped at the right of her chair.

"Leave me alone." Blake muttered.

"I will. Just listen to me for a moment." Shirou calmly replied. "I think that you're doing the right thing. If you want to kept on doing it, I won't intervene."

"Then go away." she hissed. He took her hand in his, throwing her off balance. Almost literally.

"But," he squeezed her hand. ",think about the people you will be leaving behind."

He waited. She looked up at him. He could clearly see the bags under her eyes, and her tired expression. They stayed that like for about a minute. He slowly took his hand out of hers, still holding her gaze. When he was about to complete it, Blake squeezed his hand.

"Fine." she grudgingly said. "I go to that stupid dance."

Shirou felt himself smiling.

"But please take a nap first."

"Fine." she said, then grumbled. It was uncharacteristic of her, but that only showed just how ragged she was because of that whole mess. "I was thinking of that, anyway."

She stood, and went away. Hopefully towards their room, and not to simply continue her investigation once he was out of sight. That doubt nagged at him, and he almost ran after her, but he stopped himself. It was a silly worry. Blake was a bit impulsive, at times, and very stubborn, but she was good people. She wouldn't do something like that.

Still smiling, Shirou send out to go back to Ruby.

* * *

She was still sulking at that table. Weiss was still in that room, too, examining his handiwork with a hand cupping her own chin. He hoped that she was satisfied. Now that he thought about it, he never actually asked if she wanted to change something. He didn't really mind the work, but that didn't mind he wanted to redo it. He stopped near Ruby's desk.

"Blake has agreed to go to the dance." he said. Ruby almost jumped. Her face light up. There wasn't even a shade of her earlier mood remaining in those wide, bright silver eyes.

"Really?"

"Really, I couldn't joke around about something like this."

Ruby got out of the chair, and tackled him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she buried her head on his shoulder. The force of the impact made him reel back a few steps, but he managed to straighten himself. He hugged her back.

"That's great!"

"Be careful. You could have knocked us back down to the ground."

"Uh." she pouted. "I wouldn't have minded."

For some reason, he vividly visualized it happening. Her on the top of him, her body pressed against him, her short black hair brushing his skin, her rosy lips close to his mouth. Very close. He would have swore his heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, Shirou?" she sounded nervous, for some reason. That made him tense. "Can we talk in private?

"Sure."

"And by private, I mean private. I don't want anybody to overhear, not even Weiss or Blake." her head tilted to the side. "Especially then."

"...I get it. Let's go." if she needed help, it would be better for to rely on the whole team. But it was a direct request from her. He couldn't refuse her.

Her arms unwrapped from around his throat. He found himself wishing that had kept up her embrace, even just a little more, but he didn't voice his wish. He turned, and started walking. Ruby followed. The only real private spot in the academy were their own room, but Blake should be sleeping there. He didn't want to assume she had broken her promise, and he wanted even less to willfully break his promise to Ruby, even if Blake was at sleep. So he just found a nice, secluded spot in the hallways. She asked him on the way why weren't they going to the room, and he answered that Blake was sleeping there. He checked and double checked until he was sure there was nobody to overhead their conversation. He even used his reinforced hearing to check every door, just in case. He took his promises seriously.

"It's safe now. I think. Go ahead."

"Do you..." she swallowed. "Do you want to go to the dance with me?"

Those word left him stunned. For a moment, he doubted he had heard right. But he had. Ruby had just asked him to the dance. Him, of all people. He took a deep breath. I-it was only natural, really. As far as he knew, she the only boys she was friends with were Ren, Jaune Arc and himself. It made sense for her to ask the boy she knew the best.

"I meant," she shuttered out, her arms wildly moving about in nervousness. ", as friends. You know?"

As irrational as it seemed, he had expected to felt a sense of relief when he would heard her admit that they were just friends, that she hadn't asked him for any special reason. But he didn't. He only felt disappointment, and bitterness. He understood. Not, he had understood from the beginning, he just didn't want to admit it because he was damage goods and he didn't deserve such a thing. He loved Ruby Rose. But now, he really couldn't say it. What she had said was as good as a direct confession that she wasn't interested it him. Oh, well.

"Sure, Ruby. I love to." he said, his voice tinged with warm, and gave her his best smile. He should have imagined things would turn like this, so he didn't have the right to felt disappointed. If anything, he should been feeling gland she hadn't made the mistake of loving him. Things were better this way.

"Great!" she hugged him again.

Shirou hugged her back, perhaps more tightly that he should have. But she didn't comment on it.

* * *

Shirou was nervous about today's dance, and what would happen in it. He didn't have an eye for fashion, never had. He just dressed in what was practical for him, so h e felt really awkward in the black tuxedo and white tie he had ordered just yesterday. He wore one of his white shirts underneath it, but that didn't mitigate that. Not really. And to top it all off, he didn't know how to dance. She probably didn't know, either, but still... He knew they were stupid worries, since they were going just as friends, but he couldn't help it. It didn't make sense. Lately, not many things made sense. His head was a mess.

"Have you been waiting for long?" Ruby playfully said. He turned around, and almost stopped breathing.

Ruby was wearing a short, red sleeveless dress that reached about halfway down her upper leg and a pair of black slippers. He wouldn't never have imagined her in that kind of attire, but she was absolutely stunning. He couldn't have taken her eyes off her even if he tried.

"You're beautiful." he let out, without thinking.

She yelped, her face heating up. That only made her look more stunning to him. Still. He probably shouldn't have said it. He didn't want to make this awkward. In fact, in this instant, she might be already wondering if he had a thing for her. Or if he was developing one now, which for all intents and purposes amounted to the same thing.

"You're also looking good." she said, after a moment. That made him blush. "I didn't peg you as a tuxedo and tie kind of man, but you somehow manage to pull it off."

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hug her, lift her up and twirl her in the air like in those movies and never let go of her again.

"You're telling me." Shirou said, then chuckled. There weren't any traces of bitterness in his voice. Or so he hoped. "I never thought I would see you in a dress and slippers. This is probably going to be the last time."

"I would wear the dress again, but these things," she said, tapping the ground with her foot. ", are horrendous. I don't understand how Weiss fights can fight like this."

"Practice." he curtly replied, gland that she didn't show any awkwardness. Things were still good between them. She wouldn't be with him, but she would be his friend. "Loads and loads of practice." he shrugged. "The heiress of the Schnee's Dust Company has to look stylish even while slaughtering Grimm."

She laughed. That convinced him, more that anything he could say to himself, that this was good enough for him.

"Yeah, I've to remember that one."

They stood side by side, and walked together towards the entrance. She didn't take his arm and, even though he liked the idea, he was too nervous to do so. Even to a casual observer, it would be obvious they were just friends. That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Beyond the door, there was Yang in a simple white dress, behind a podium. He almost jumped, but he saw that when she saw them walking in together her face had brightened. That was... strange. Pleasant, but strange. He quite clearly remembered her putting herself between them almost protectively after the exam and after that, they didn't have any notable interactions. Sure, Ruby sought her company frequently because she wasn't only her big sister but also her surrogate mom, and he usually followed his team around, so he had been in a some of their conversations. But Yang and he never really bonded, or anything. He didn't understand what lend her to have a change of heart.

What he thought next was that he could use this. That he could talk to Yang and find out what was Ruby's type, or even try to make her give a good word of him to her little sister. He squashed that train of thought before it could go too far.

"Oh, Ruby! You look wonderful. So..." her grin grew wider. "Who asked who? Come on, tell me."

"Actually," Shirou interjected. "It was Ruby. But we're going just as friends."

Yang's eyes narrowed, for some reason.

"Just... friends?"

"Yup."

She sighed, looking exasperated, sidestepped the podium and walked forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ruby had taken a step back and looked completely mortified. It was only natural. Being put on the spot like that, and by her own sister. Yang stopped in front of Ruby.

"Shirou." Yang said, grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her forward. "Sorry to take your date from the dance, but I could borrow her from a few minutes?"

"Uh..."he wondered, for a moment, if it was best to stop her. Yang might think he was a good match for her little sister, but Ruby clearly saw him only as a friend. But. A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him to agree, because there was still hope she could manage to change her mind. He caved to that voice. In the end, he was only human. "Sure."

"Great!" and with that, she dragged Ruby away, up the stairs to the side. He looked at the balcony above. It was pretty much empty, since the party was here. The perfect place to talk in private.

Shirou thought, for a moment, about approaching the balcony until he could listen in to their conversation, but he dismissed that as quickly as it had gone through his head. He hadn't no right to do that. He looked wishfully at Ruby, leaning on the rail by her sister's side. She really was beautiful, but it was more than that. She was a beautiful person. She was kind and caring and the pain of others hurt her. She understood him, and he understood her. He had connection to her that he wouldn't never have with another person. He sighed, and he went to hide at the pouch bowl. He grabbed a cup, and tried some of it. It tasted terrible. He almost gagged.

He looked around. The decorations, the dancing pairs, the students who had come alone. It all reminded him that he didn't belong here. He didn't deserve going with Ruby, even as friends. He didn't deserve anything. He had let so many people disappear because he was afraid of the pain, afraid of dying, so... he felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes. He took a deep breath, and released it. He wiped his eyes with the back of his free hand, and tried to calm himself down. Strange. He hadn't cried in eight years, and now he had been about to do it. Everything was so strange lately. He felt like his mind was unraveling. No, that was exactly what was happening. The foundation that had kept Emiya Shirou alive for eight years was collapsing.

He tried to distract himself from these thoughts. He saw Weiss alone, at a close table, trying to coach life out of a wilting white rose. She tried her best, but the flower was obviously unsalvageable. Even thought she had to know that too, she looked visibly upset when she failed. He thought about going to her side, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the talk between them had finished. Ruby nodded, looking resolute, and stepped forward. She staggered, and almost fell, but managed to straighten herself. He chuckled under his breath. She was so cute.

He watched her as she went down the stairs, grabbing into the handrail for support. Once she was on the ground floor again, she started looking around. She spotted him. Her face brightened, and she started walking towards him. His heart started racing, and stupid questions came and went through his head. She stopped in front of him.

"So..." she muttered, and swallowed. Then she extend her hands towards him. "Want to dance?"

"...I don't know how to dance." he confessed.

"Its fine. Just follow my lead."

"Okay."

He grabbed her hands, and she lead him into the dance floor. Nobody gave them a second glace. She wrapped one hand around his waist, and the other around his shoulder. She pressed her small body against him. He tensed. He became painfully aware of her hot breath, and just how close they really were. He did the same. When she started moving, he followed her movements as best as he could. It wasn't too hard. It was like Projection, in a way. Ruby's movements were the 'blueprint' he had as the guide. He felt really awkward, but that could be ignored. At the moment, he was simply happy he could be this close to her. To anyone who saw them like this, they wouldn't think they were just friends. That thought made him felt a little happy, but also disappointed.

"I didn't think you knew how to dance." he said.

"I didn't. I asked Yang to give me dancing lessons, about a month or so ago." she answered. "You're sure you never dance before?"

"Yes." he curtly replied. "But why did you want lessons? I didn't think you cared for this kind of thing."

"I don't care, but..." she buried her head against his chest. "I suppose I have to been straightforward with you, but its hard. I meant, I got all embarrassed and said something I shouldn't, and you took it in stride, so now I'm worried. But..."

"What do you meant?" his heart started beating even faster.

"When I asked you to the dance, I... I asked you seriously. I had not intention of going as friends." She looked up at him, and held his gaze. "Shirou, I love you."

He was strangely calm; those words had washed away everything from his head. He kissed her. It was a pleasant sensation. Just skin against skin, but it was more pleasant that anything he had experience before. He wrapped his right arm around her waist, and pressed her even more tightly against him. He ran his free hand through her short, smooth black hair. They parted. It had felt like a long of time, but it couldn't have been more that a minute. Ruby's face was as red as her dress, and she was looking up at him with a dazed expression.

"Shirou..." she muttered. He kissed her again. With tongue, this time. Through the hazy-mess his head had turned, he heard somebody cheer. He was fairly sure it was Yang's voice. Ruby responded eagerly to his movements. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but they didn't care. This kiss lasted longer. After they parted from the second time, he had the impulse of kissing her again. But he didn't.

"I love you, Ruby." he confessed, his voice warm, holding her gaze. "I love you _so_ much."

She started crying, her smile wide. Then she kissed him. He could hardly believe this was happening for real. He didn't deserve this, he knew he didn't, but he didn't care. She was what mattered, what truly mattered. He had held on to that ideal from so long that he had lost sight of being human. Saving people was the right think to do, but that didn't meant he had to throw himself away for that. He understood. He understood himself better that he had ever did in all his life. If push came to shove, Ruby would always come first for him. They parted again.

Somebody tapped him in the shoulder. He turned his head, annoyed, and saw the boy who had surrendered to avoid fighting. He was accompanied by a woman with red eyes, green hair and a dress of darker side of grin. Behind both of them, there was an older woman in a black gown.

"What do you want now?" that was the first thing that came out of Shirou's mouth. "Can't you see that I'm..."

The boy raised his hand, which had been in his pocket, revealing a strange gun. His thoughts ground to a halt. The gun discharged three times. Two of them hit his Aura in rapid succession, breaking it down, and the third bullet went through his throat. Gurgling, he raised his hands towards it. Blood. There was so much blood. His hands were completely stained in it. There were screams, but they all seemed a world away. The only thing he clearly heard was Ruby crying out his name.

He fell to the ground. His vision went black for an instant. She dashed past him, enraged, and tried to puch that woman in the face. Mercury stepped between them, easily caught her, turned her around and put the gun against her head. Shirou struggled to get up, putting his whole existence in the line. She had told him to take care of himself, but she was in danger now. He could think about himself once she was safe.

He somehow managed to sit up, but then the woman in the black gown kneeled in front of him, and stuck her hand through his chest. His world exploded in pain. He screamed, screamed, screamed. His vision swayed, black spots dancing around it. The pain ended in an instant. After that, his vision gained a strange clarity. The woman had pulled back her hand, and in it she was now holding a sheath. But it was more that a mere sheath. His heart understood faster that his mind than that was King Arthur's sheath. The Noble Phantasm called Avalon.

Shirou fell again, on his back, feeling what little streght that had remained in his body suddenly leave him.


	12. Bloodstains

**Chapter Twelve**

Shirou knew he was dying. The blood had stopped flowing, but his Aura had broken down at it wasn't recovering, so the wound would eventually overcome him. And this situation, there was no way for him to get help. He was dead already. Also, he didn't felt any pain. That was a bad signal. He only vaguely understood why, in the haze his mind had been submerged in, but he knew it was so. So he had to move. It didn't matter that he didn't have any streght left. If he was to die anyway, he would chose to die protecting her.

"Stop there!" that woman declared. "If any of you move, I blow this girl's head off."

"What do you want?" Ozpin. That was Ozpin's voice.

"I already have what I want." the woman curtly replied. "Let this little thing unfold, and we're even. Only Emiya Shirou is allowed to move. I been watching, even after we get out of this room, so don't risk it... unless you don't care this girl gets killed."

He forced himself to get up, coughing blood. His legs were shaking. Blood lost. That was a major part of it, but he knew that there was also some fear. He was afraid of disappearing, much like he had been in the fire. But that surge of self-loathing only furthered his determination. Silence suddenly settled on the room. He took a step forward. His vision swayed, but he only gritted his teeth. If he fell, he couldn't never get up again, so he refused to let his body fall. He took another step forward on his shaking legs.

In front of him, there was that traitorous bastard, Mercury, staring at him with an unsettled expression. That girl was a few meters behind him, and that woman in the black gown was walking back, towards the entrance. She had one arm around Ruby's throat, and the other pushed the barrel of the gun against her head. He hear a tearing noise, and felt a sudden stab of pain. From the corner of his eye, he saw a nameless sword poking out his right shoulder, from inside of him. Another step. More blades grew out of his body. Inside to outside. As they were created, he felt streght entered his body. The blades were keeping him alive. Soon, his senses would turn into steel. There was no surprise. No really.

He saw tears streaking down Ruby's face, even from here. But it was fine. Everything would be alright, soon enough.

"What the fuck?" Mercury muttered beneath his breath, as he took a step back.

Because...

He almost fell, but held his ground and stared resolutely at the enemies in front of him. He didn't care about what was happening, why or about the rest of the people here. For him, defeating these enemies was his last remaining purpose.

"His body is made out of swords." he began the spell to connect himself. He poured determination through his dying body, and swallowed the blood clotting in his throat. He reached with both hands to his shoulder, and pulled off a weapon. It was instantly replaced by another blade. His arms were shaking, and even standing up like this was hard, so he had to grip the weapon with both hands to fight.

"Mercury!" the woman shouted. The boy hesitated, but just for a moment. He shoot off towards him. He was fast, but not that fast. Even without using her Semblance, Ruby was faster that him. The boy stopped, and kicked at his head with his left leg.

"Shirou!"

He pushed the attacking leg back with his sword. The movement threw him out of balance, but he managed to kept himself on his feet.

"Damn." Mercury said. " _What_ the fuck are you?"

He got back into stance, and swung his sword to pierce the enemy's throat. Mercury sidestepped the attack, and tried to kick him again with his right leg. Shirou ducked low, and tackled him to the ground. The enemy tried to push him back using his Aura, but he held on. The blades that his body was now made of were durable, and the combined weight made it really hard for him to get pushed around, even by direct application of Aura.

"Please, please. Let him go. Help him. I do anything, but don't let him die." Ruby's voice. It seemed so distant, now. He wished, not for the first time, that he could take away all her pain. That he could make her smile. But this were how things had to be. There was no turning back anymore.

Shirou wrapped his hands around his enemy's throat, and _squeezed_. Mercury's eyes went wide and round. Gagging, he tried to push him off of him with his hands, and his Aura. He put his feet against his chest, which wasn't completely encased in swords. Shirou thought he was trying to gain enough leverage to throw him over his head, but not. His enemy then fired his greaves. The impacts went right through his body, breaking him even more. As his body was damaged, more and more swords were created to kept him alive. It hurt only for an instant.

Running footsteps. He looked up, and saw a flash of brown. He was too late to react. The slippers hit him right on the forehead. His head was the only part of his body that hadn't turned into swords, so he was send reeling back. He got a brief glimpse of the woman's weapon while he rebalanced himself, but that brief glimpse was more that enough. He analyzed, reproduced and stored her weapons in an instant. But that would be for later. The gun that Mercury had wielded against him. He projected it in his free hand, and fired thrice against Emerald. Two shots hit her Aura, breaking it down. The third went whirling past her head. Damn. She hadn't even dodged, it was just that he had missed.

That mistake of his gave her enough time to aim her weapons at his head and fire. He raised his arms to protect his head. Like this, even one shot from that thing would end everything. Ruby was still trapped, so he wasn't allowed to die yet. Emerald's ammunition didn't manage to penetrate the swords. Each impact shook him a little, but that was all that happened. Since she was still fired, and he wasn't about to wait until she needed to reload, he charged at her. He hit her body head on with all his weight, throwing her to the ground. He turned.

Mercury. He ducked low, and his kick and the shot went past his head. Shirou threw himself to the ground, rolled, came to his feet, aimed the gun at Emerald and shot her right in the head. It wasn't messy at all. There was hole in her forehead. A small one, and not much blood flowed from it. At a distance, anybody would think she was merely sleeping. That, perhaps, was the worst thing. And her eyes, wide with terror of knowing death approaching.

He had just killed a human being for the sake of saving Ruby... and he didn't felt a thing.

The remaining enemy lunged for him. His kick hit him right on the chest. It didn't hurt, but it put him out of balance, and he messily fell down to the ground. His weapons fell out of his grip. Damn. That woman was already out of the room. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time. He saw her crying face, those silver eyes full of terror for his sake. He gritted his teeth. He gathered what little streght he had left in his body. Moving was hard, but he forced himself to his feet. A kick hit him right in the chest. It wasn't an attack to damage the inside of his body, so it didn't hurt at all. It didn't even made him reel back.

"Get lost!" Shirou roared. The state of his throat made it sound raw, animalistic. "She can't smile if you exist!"

He punched his enemy in the face with everything he had. The swords coming out of fist made it more effective. The impact broke his enemy's nose, and nearly send him falling to the ground. Mercury screamed in irritation, and lunged for him. He sidestepped him, and hit him again. His enemy felt down to the ground. Shirou straddled him, and hit his face, again, again and again, screaming in pure mindless rage. He hit his enemy so much that, soon enough, he was barely conscious. He wrapped his hands around his throat, and strangled him.

The silence was only broken by Mercury's gargles and feeble struggles and the music, which had been playing during the whole mess. It was an exciting, upbeat tone. He couldn't think straight anymore, so for some reason, now that he thought about it he found that hilarious. Staring at the widening eyes of the enemy below, he found it really, _really_ hilarious. It didn't take much for Mercury to breathe his last breath.

Shirou stood up, turned and started walking away from the corpse. Now that he had some small reprieve, he realized he couldn't heard his heartbeat. He wasn't even breathing anymore. That thought penetrated the haze of pain and fear-not for himself, but for her- that his mind had been submerged in. But only for a moment. It didn't matter. He didn't even want to think about the state his body was in, but he could still fight.

It hurt. It was only a matter of time before he died, either by being skewered or simply by not not being capable of bearing this state anymore. He didn't felt any pain, but an unbearable heat was boiling inside of him. It was a hundred times worse that the pain of the training he had endured for eight years. But he knew that already. The moment that woman had tore out that sword from inside of himself had marked his death. His soul was irreparable. And because his soul was breaking down, his body was being destroyed along with it. Every step only speed up the process.

He got out the room through the front door. Even shoving them open took some effort for him now. He took a step down, tripped and rolled down the stairs. He hit the ground hard, his vision turning white for an instant. Coughing, he lifted his head. His body was dying, but he could still see well enough, even in the darkness. There was an Bullhead in the center. Bodies of soldiers laid sprawled over the floor. Not dead. He heard footsteps behind him, but he paid them not mind. The woman was very close to the aircraft. He didn't have much time.

He forced himself to his feet, but he just didn't have enough streght anymore. His body fell, and he only narrowly managed to stop his fall by using his hands as support. He felt blood in his mouth. He spit to get it, and tried to lift himself again. Damn it. He couldn't fail here, of all times. He couldn't die yet. Some girl tried to stop him from moving. The sound of the words reached him, but he couldn't make them out. He only knew it was Weiss's voice. She put a hand on his shoulder, uncaring that it was covered in blades. He shoved her aside. He didn't have much streght anymore, so he didn't even manage to move her, but she didn't try to stop him anymore. That was good enough. He let out a deep breath.

There was just no way he could cover the distance in time, even if he had been in good condition. There was nothing he could do. He could still see that sword the woman had pulled out of his body in perfect detail, in the back of his mind. But somehow, he knew he couldn't reproduce it. That it was out of his league. He felt like those thoughts could break him more that the state of his body or the fighting he had to do.

And yet he had to try. He took another step. He could still move, even though his breathing had stopped a long time ago and his heartbeat had disappeared. His vision swayed. He gritted his teeth and forced his body to kept its balance. He picked up the pace. The woman was looking at him with an astonished expression, and had stopped moving. Maybe things weren't hopeless.

"Stop it!" Ruby screamed. "Please, stop it already! I couldn't stand it if you died!"

He drew in a breath, and broke into a run. He somehow managed to continue until halfway. Then he tripped over his own feet, and had to grip on to the water fountain to kept standing. Black spots swam around his vision. He was rapidly losing the meaning of being human. He didn't even know what was pain anymore, and all the things that made Emiya Shirou who he was had floated away from him. He didn't even remember why he was forcing himself to do this anymore. But. He knew the girl in the red dress was important to him, so he had to go and fulfill his role.

" _Please_." she said, her broken voice making her words barely intelligible. It hurt him. The pain in her swords slashed his heart, with more force that any enemy would have. She was hurt. He didn't want her to be hurt. He only wanted her to smile. Her voice only furthered his resolve. "I understand, but please stand down. You've already done enough."

No, it wasn't enough. He had to save her. Only then could he died in peace. So he kept on advancing. His left leg gave out, making him fall down on one knee. No, no way. He had to kept going. But it was useless. That leg didn't move at all. Didn't matter. He stood on his unbroken right leg, and used a hand to kept his limp left leg straight. His pace had slowed, but he was still much faster that before. His desperation fueled his movements.

"Shirou!"

The woman still hadn't moved. It would only take her a single step to enter the Bullhead, but she wasn't moving, for some reason. He could make it. He could still make it. In a few instants, he fell down again on his head. He tried, but he couldn't even stand up anymore. So, using his hands, he crawled across the ground towards her. They were close. So close. Soon, he could extend an arm and pull her away. He had to do this. At least, he had to do this one little thing. Something he knew about but couldn't name went towards the woman, but it died out when it hit... something. No, not just then. It had been going for sometime, though he didn't know exactly how much. Is just that he hadn't realized it.

"Listen to me!"

When he got close enough to touch her, the woman in the black gown took another step back, taking the girl in the red dress inside the Bullhead with her. The door's slowly closed. His mind turned that single instant into an eternity. Her silver eyes, wide and round and brimming with tears. The gun pointed at the girl's head. The satisfied smile of that woman. The image of the two of them, disappearing behind the doors. Then it closed. To his ears, it was as loud as a gunshot.

The thing flew into the air, taking her away from him forever. He started crying. He turned, and looked up towards the shattered moon. It was over. He had failed her. He wanted to be with her forever, of course, but dying would have been acceptable if he got her safe and sound, back where she belonged. But he hadn't even managed to do that. Dammit, it was so unfair. He could say hefelt some relief because she hadn't had to watch him die, but he didn't. It didn't change the pain it would cause her. If anything, it would even worse. Hope springs eternal... but when it died out, the weight could crush any person.

Footsteps. People gathered around. To his rusting vision, they were little more that shadows. He could recognize some of them, though. But that didn't matter. The sound of the engine, growing farther and farther away, was maddening. He opened his mouth to say it, her name, but what came out was only a feeble gasp. He was already too far gone. Everything was over. So at least he had to remember her name and apologize properly for being such a failure.

 _I'm sure I was punished because I didn't do as I was told_

He tried to remember and say it. He tried, but his head had turned all stupid, so he couldn't even remember such an important name. The only thing there was a strained yelp. But his time was closing, and the apology was the only thing he could offer... offer... _offer_ her. The only person to love him for being himself.

"Ru..." he croaked out through his dry throat. "Rub... Ruby."

He remembered. The name of the kindhearted, honest girl that, like him, simply wanted to save people and make things better. The strong girl who had been there for him in his worst moments, supporting him and caring for him. The girl he had been with through some of her worse moments. And also the better ones. Or at least, he liked to thing so.

"Ruby." he said, a little more strongly this time. "I'm sorry. I..."

The first time he saw her in that red dress. The way she smiled. Their dance, so fleeting. The warmness of their bodies mixing together, and her head against his chest. The way she said she had said she loved him. The first kiss they had shared, and the second. The way they had clung to each other. Her smile, and her tears of happiness when he had told her that he loved her too. Those images went throught his mind constantly, and random, like cards shuffling.

"I love you." he managed to say.

The way she had said she loved him followed him down into the darkness.


	13. Flickering Shadows

**Chapter Thirteen**

Ruby watched as he crawled towards them, throught the haze of tears in her vision. He was dying. She didn't even want to accept that possibility, but she knew he was. He had been shot thrice in front of her, and one of those bullets had gone throught his throat. She still remembered the noises he made, the way he raised his hands to his bleeding throat. How they were stained by blood. And if that weren't enough, that bitch had stuck her hand throught his body, literally throught his body, and had pulled out a sheath that seemed otherworldly, as silly as it sounded. That had made it all too easy for her to delude herself into thinking it was a dream, but no. She knew it wasn't. Everything was too real to been a dream. She didn't know what was happening, but it had to been something relating to magecraft.

He had screamed like he was dying back then, and all the effort he had put in rescuing her only broke his body even more. It was easy to forget that a mere minutes before things were shaping up to be the best day of her life.

The engine of the Bullhead started up, and they flew into the air.

When he had stood up, things had only become all the worse. The relief that he wasn't death had been short lived. The sharp point of a sword had come out of his shoulder, and soon enough his body was replaced by a mess of interlocking blades. It had been a horrible sight. But the worst part was that he clearly didn't care. She wasn't sure if he himself even knew what was going, but that, at least, was clear to her. She had cried and screamed, begging for them to stop. Nobody had listened to her.

Even when the woman that held her hostage took her out of the room, things hadn't gone any better. She hadn't been able to escape from her. She was stronger that her and, in any case, she had seen first hand what that gun could do. It had managed to shatter Shirou's Aura in two shots. The second she made even the slightest movement, she was dead. Sure, the woman would only have time to get a shot before she used her Semblance, if she was as good as this whole mess indicated. But she wouldn't go too far, even with using, before the second bullet hit her. And the third time wouldn't be any different. That was, of course, assuming that two shots were needed every time.

But that hadn't been the worst of it. The worst was that, by using a scroll, the woman had made her watch the battle unfolding in the room where the party had been held. She had watched every instant of it with painful clarity. She watched Shirou nearly died so many times, and do her best to help her. Every time he was in, more blades grew out of his body. It came to the point that the only thing unprotected by the swords was his head. His body was only barely recognizable as that of a human being. And, of course, how she killed that girl with the gun used to injure her and had strangled that boy to death. 'Get lost. She can't smile if you exist'. That he was doing that so willfully for her sake was heartbreaking.

When he came out of the room and towards her, she had begged him to stand down so many times, and yet he kept on advancing towards her, resolute. Unshakeable. She hated that. She hated that he had suffered and was suffering for her sake but, most of all, she hated the part of her that felt a little happy that he was willing to go so far for her sake.

Now, she knew she wouldn't never have the opportunity to apologize to him.

Ruby realized only just then that the tears had come again. But she didn't care. She didn't even care about this woman's plans were, or about the fate that awaited her. She lost all of her resolve to fight back, and was drowning herself in memories of him. His smile, the fleeting dance they had together. Their first kiss, and their second and last kiss. His kindness, how he smiled and the way he had told that he loved her.

First her mother, and now him.

She just didn't care anymore.

* * *

Weiss walked in circles, biting her nails. That wouldn't do. Her father would have throw a fit if he saw her like that but, honestly, she didn't care about what he thought and there was no use in trying to look dignified in this kind of situation. There was no silver lining, no shred of hope to hold on to. What happened, plain and simple was that their leader was on the verge of death, Ruby had been kidnapped and none of them had been able to do anything. No matter how she thought back on what happened, the angles she considered, she came to that conclusion. Which made it all the more frustrating.

And what happened was a question as of itself. So many horrible, inexplicable things had happened in quick succession while she stood to the side, paralyzed by indecision for the first time in her life. Though, of course, she wasn't completely clueless about it all. The nature of the events didn't stop her for extrapolating a few things. They were criminals, and they had taken something out of him. That had to meant that the sheath was important to whatever goals they had. But what that sheath was, how it was inside of Shirou, their goals and... and what happened to his body remained a mystery.

She could still seen it, if she closed her eyes. A body made out of swords. A dying boy, roaring like an animal and destroying himself for every step he took for the sake of saving Ruby, clearly not caring about the swords that were consuming him. His face, as he looked up towards the shattered moon. And how placid he had looked when he had lost consciousness. And it had hurt. It had hurt so much. She was surly and cranky but that boy had always given her a smile, tried to understand her and never recriminated her for anything and she had been forced to watch as all that warm seeped out of him.

If only she had been a better teammate. She hadn't had any reason to kept her guard at the dance, she knew that, but damn it. It was so frustrating that she hadn't even saw how that whole mess had started. She had only heard the three gunshots, and then turned to see Shirou gagging, bleeding heavily from his throat. But that wasn't all. The woman hadn't intended to kill Ruby. At least, not at that time. The guards of the academy had attacked her and she had merely disposed of them, despite her words. If she had acted, she could have changed things. Shirou wouldn't have been forced to put himself in the verge of death, and Ruby would have been back with them.

But she hadn't.

So now she was here, along with Blake and Yang, to see if he would live or die. She tried to remain hopeful, but not matter how much she kept recalling him dragged his broken throught the floor, towards the Bullhead, while the woman stopped each and every strike Glynda Goodwitch had send against her, once it became clear she didn't want to kill Ruby yet. It was the very image of a useless struggle.

"Calm down, Weiss." Blake said.

"I can't."

"You change what happened, no matter how much you worry. Shirou is the hands of the healers now. Just... Just sit down and hope for the best."

"I hate to admit it," Yang interjected. "But she's right. We can't do anything for him."

"Sure, its easy for you to say that." Weiss said, bitterness clear in her voice. She remembered clearly how Yang had reacted, once all was said and done. Knowing fully well her sister was out of her reach, she had tried to go after that woman even though they all had lost line of sight with it and didn't know where they were going. "You wouldn't have said the same if..." she bit her lip. She couldn't say that. "Never mind."

"He's important to me." Yang said, her voice a little strained. From the corner of her eyes, Weiss could see the other girl was clutching her pants. She was clearly trying to restrain herself. "Very important. He makes Ruby happy in a way I can't. But it doesn't change anything. I can't do anything for him, as much as I would have liked otherwise. Its frustrating, but its the truth. So I'm thinking about Ruby and how I can get her back. Concentrate on something I can actually change."

"...Fine." she wasn't willing to argue any further. She was beginning to understand that they were only trying to calm her down and, besides, they were right. There was no two ways about it. She didn't know the first time about healing, so the only thing she could do was hope and pray he would get throught this. She sat down on an empty seat next to Blake and waited.

Sometime later, how much she couldn't say, the healers went out of the room. Their faces told the whole story, even before they had time to say anything. He... he was dead. It hurt even to think so but she had to start dealing with it. He wasn't ever going to come back. She buried her face in her hands, and started crying.

* * *

The next time Ruby became really aware of her surroundings, she realized the Bullhead had stopped moving. The woman dragged her out of the airship, an arm still around her throat-the same arm that held that strange sheath- and the barrel of the gun against the side of her head. What she saw were the abandoned ruins of city she didn't know about. Out of the airship, a weaponless pilot and two White Fang soldiers came out. So this woman was working with the White Fang. Good to know, but at this point, it was worth diddlysquat.

She was dragged underground throught an entrance not too far for then. The complex she was seeing, full of soldiers and boxes and machinery, was big. Really big. Probably, this was their base of operations and not a simple hideout. She hoped so, at least. If not, that would meant they had more resources that they had ever thought. As they passed, the soldiers of the White Fang saluted the woman in respect. She wasn't a Faunus, at least not as far as she could see, so she surely wasn't the leader, but she had to been an important assent to them. She was shoved inside a trailer, tied to chair and then left in the darkness with the woman.

Ruby held her enemy's gaze resolutely. She wasn't resigned, despite everything. Less so now, out all times. Discreetly, she started working to untangle the ropes that bound her waists. She didn't think she could get out of this alive, but she was here, alone with the woman, in the darkness, in a trailer with the door locked. Help would take time to get there, so she could at least kill her for what she did to Shirou.

The woman dropped the sheath, the gun and approached her. That made her tense. She waited for the worst, ready to act at the slightest sight that she was about to kill her. But she didn't even attack her. She started patting her down, like some sort of official. For a moment, she wondered if she was checking her for weapons. Then the woman grabbed her scroll, and took it out of her pocket.

Even from here, Ruby could clearly see what she was doing with it. The woman opened her contact list, and called Weiss. Her pale white face appeared in the screen an instant later, bright and hopeful. Then she glared. It seemed like she had thought she had managed to escape and contact, despite the odds. But what pulled her attention wasn't that, but that she hadn't made a normal call. If she was bothering to do this, it was clear what she intended to do. She felt her stomach churn.

"What do you want?" Weiss spat out, icily. A moment later, Yang and Blake appeared on the screen.

"Its simple." the woman said. Then, she turned the screen of the scroll towards her. "As you can see, she's alive. But she won't be for much longer if you don't listen to me. We're in an underground complex beneath Mountain Glenn. Come here, all three of you."

"Wait, wait!" Ruby yelled, panicked. Her mother, and him. She really didn't even deserve to life if she let them die for her sake, too. "Don't do that. That's suicide. Don't worry about me."

"..We will go." Weiss said, like she hadn't heard her. "Anything else?"

"No." the woman answered, her smile growing wider.

Then Weiss cut off the call, not even leaving her time to protest. Damn it. They couldn't do that. They were throwing themselves at a suicide mission, in the vain hope that they could manage to rescue her in time. It wasn't worth it. She was as good as dead already. They were going to risk their lives for nothing. At that thought, she nearly started crying. She gritted her teeth, and tried to calm herself down.

* * *

Weiss stared at the black screen of the scroll, furious beyond words. Because she had allowed herself to think that maybe, just maybe, the call from Ruby's scroll meant that she had escaped captivity by herself- somehow, even thought she didnt' have a weapon- and was calling for help. But most of all, because that woman was treating their lives like toys.

"That bitch!" Yang yelled, and gritted her teeth. Her hair was yellow, but it had turned into such an intense shade of the color that it was glowing. Also, her hair was on fire. Her eyes had turned for their normal lilac color into a deep red. That caught Weiss off guard, but not too much. She realized that she didn't even felt heat from it, so Yang couldn't accidentally hurt her with the flames. "That _fucking_ bitch!"

Weiss struggled to find something to say to other, but she didn't get too far. There really was nothing she could say to that. Yang took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The fire in her hair slowly extinguished. When she opened her eyes again, they were back to their normal color.

"We have to talk to Ozpin about this." that was what she settled on, after a small pause.

"Yes. Let's do it." Yang said.

Yang barged into the Headmaster's office like she owned the place, and the two of them followed her. Frankly, Weiss wasn't really in the mood to argue with her about how disrespectful her actions were. She didn't like property and all of that to begin with, yes, but there were several people who she respected. The Headmaster was one of them... until yesterday. He hadn't even tried to argue against that woman's words. He could have tried to get her to listen to him, and leave both Ruby and Shirou alone in exchanged for letting her escape. But he hadn't. She was only seeking his help because, regardless of how he was, he would been useful in rescuing Ruby.

"What is it?" Ozpin said, raising an eyebrow.

"We got contacted by the woman who kidnapped Ruby. She said that they are on a underground complex beneath Mountain Glenn." Weiss said.

"Who they contacted, specifically?"

"Me." she answered.

"I see. Give me your scroll, then."

Weiss handed it to him, after a moment's hesitation. Ozpin fiddled around with for a bit. The three went behind his desk, so they could see what he was doing. That woman's face appeared in the screen. For what she could see of her surroundings, it seemed like she hadn't moved an inch since the last call. But that wasn't the important thing. She had told them to come alone... so she might kill Ruby, just for this. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"Ozpin." she said. "What a surprise."

"This is not a joking matter. First, I want to confirm Ruby Rose is still alive." the screen shifted, showing Ruby tied to that chair. This time she didn't say anything. Weiss looked her over, but she was uninjured. At least, as far as she could see. "Second, I know what you're thinking of doing now. Think again. I hate you enough for what you've done to Shirou, but if you actually do that, you and your little plans will crumble today. You're going to burn anyway, but if you do it I won't offer you the slightest scrap of leniency."

"I kept that in mind." then, she cut off the call.

* * *

Ruby watched as the woman suddenly cut off the call. Ozpin words kept turning over and over in her head. There really was only one possible meaning to that. She had been nervous enough, seeing her merely waiting without saying anything, wondering what he was thinking and what it would meant for her, but this confirmed it. The woman keeled, grabbed the gun, and stood up again. She realized she was smiling. She took a step forward. The sound of those black high-heeled shoes sounded as loud as a gunshot.

That smile, joyous and utterly out of place was still on her face as she raised the gun and pointed it at her head.


	14. The Haunter Of The Dark

**Chapter Fourteen**

She had worked for some time in wearing down the ropes, but Ruby Rose knew all too well that she couldn't manage to do it fast enough to avoid being shoot to death. Her Aura was still up and ready, so it should take two shots or, at the very least, one to break it down but she didn't think she could take off the ropes even in two or three shots. There was only one choice for her.

Her Semblance was speed. She used it mostly for burst of speed to surprise, dodge and confuse her opponent or all three of them. But it wasn't the only way it could be used. The speed she used it normally wasn't the limit. She could push that limit, putting her body at a speed so overwhelming that it created a whirlwind as she passed. The time to recharge was longer, but it really was her only choice. Even thought it was really risky. So Ruby lifted herself, taking the chair along with her, just as the woman started pressing the trigger.

The bullet hit her Aura head on. The impact was tremendous, making her lose her balance for an instant. Then she got into stance and used it. The whirlwind she left at her wake was strong enough to rip the steel trailer out of the ground and threw it into the air. The woman's second shot went wildly out of target. The bullet hit the ceiling. The trailer flew from a few instants, carried by the force of the wind and then hit the ground and continued spinning forward. All the while, they were throw around against the walls and ceiling like rag dolls. She heard panicked screams from outside, like a world away. Her stomach churned violently; she felt like she could puke her guts out.

There was a sound, like steel against steel and then they were in the air. Falling. They had gone spinning over a handrail, and now they were falling. She realized that quickly, but she didn't have the time to care about it. In a few seconds, the trailer hit the ground and they were both launched into the air again. She hit her head in what once had been the ceiling, and felt a warmness spreading down her forehead. Blood. She had cut herself, and the wound was bleeding. She shook her head, trying to shake that dizzy feeling, and forced herself to her feet.

Ruby turned. The woman was by the half-opened door on the trailer, laying flat on the ground and trying to stand up. She noticed that the sheath had ended up behind her. She considered grabbing it for a fraction of a second, but no. She couldn't do that. It looked like it weighted a lot, and it would only drag her down while she tried to escape. She had to put priority in her life, rather that in stopping that woman's plans. Her friends were coming for her. She couldn't die here. It would meant making them risk their lives or worse in vain and, most of all, it would mean failing Shirou. Maybe he was still alive. Maybe. There was still the chance that the healers had managed to get him back to health. He loved her. He surely wished for her to be happy and smiling, so she had to get throught this.

She easily slipped out of the ropes that covered her wrists. She took a step forward, almost fell and somehow managed to straighten herself. Damn stills. She quickly took them off, and ran for the gun, who had gone out of woman's grip in the chaos of the fall. She grabbed it, and pistol whipped the woman, who had already got to her hands and knees, right in the back of the head. That could have knocked her out of consciousness, even with Aura still activated. Maybe. Actually, it was long shot. But either way, she didn't have the luxury of seeing if it was so or not. She ran out of the door, and jumped down the stairs.

Soldiers of the White Fang were in front of her and above her, with their guns aimed at her. There was very little chance she could manage to avoid all the shots and get to cover in time. For what she could see, though, their guns were normal. Not like the one she had in her hand. It had already been shot five times, but it should have enough bullets for her to escape. If she didn't make any stupid mistakes, that's it.

She dashed to the side an instant before they fired. The bullets got buried in the ground where she had been a moment before. She jumped behind cover, before the soldier's could react. Still, their reaction was very fast. It could be the training, but not, it was more than that. They already knew about her Semblance, and some basic things about her limits. At the very least. She wasn't winded at all, but her her heart was beating painfully in her chest. She sucked in a breath. Think. She had to think, and fast, or everything would be for nothing.

Ozpin was on his way, along with Weiss, Blake and her sister and the rest of the academy. She was sure that even just the four of them alone would handle everything these people had to throw at them, but still they were only human. It would take them at least one hour to get to Mountain Glenn, and that was just the beginning. Then they would have to make their way throught the underground complex and also somehow find her. She couldn't possibly stall for that long, holding to a shred of hope that everything would turn to be fine. She wouldn't have took the risk even if that woman hadn't been there to get her in her way. If she wanted to live, she had to fight back.

She got out of cover and ran forward, towards the wall. They fired almost immediately. She managed to dodge some of it, but most of them hit her since she was surrounded from three sides. As fast as she was, she couldn't make miracles. They bounced harmlessly off her Aura, but that didn't mean anything. Even something as small as that would eventually overwhelmed her if she didn't get time to recharge.

Of course, she wasn't about to let the situation last.

Once she got close, she umped and, using the wall as a support, she jumped again. The jump carried her above the handrail and into the other side. She landed in a crouch, turned and _moved_. They had lined up to shoot at her at the handrail, so they were the perfect targets. Their closeness compensated for the small range. The whirlwind hit the group that was right in front of her, and carried them with force into the air. Most of them gave a wordless cry of surprise. The soldiers fell down hard. The distance wasn't much, but if some of them got unlucky, they could easily break their necks upon impact. But she couldn't bring herself to care about it. Not now.

Not all the soldiers had been caught in the blast, which was still dying down, but that didn't matter. She turned and ran, using the vehicles, boxes and steel trailers as cover while keeping her gun at chest level. She used her Semblance to cover the distance between covers that she couldn't run throught without putting herself in danger. Maybe it was paranoid of her, since even though her Aura wasn't full it had vastly more that half its power, but she couldn't never been too careful. Especially in situations like this.

She turned the corner. The sight reminded her of those things in highways you had to pay to pass, only instead of two cabinets there were two White Fang soldiers with their guns trailed on her. She aimed. It was fine. She handled Crescent Rose's massive recoil flawlessly, so, really, this was child's play. She pulled the trigger.

The bullet streaked across the air like a meteor, and went throught the soldier's throat. There was surprisingly little blood. He fell down, on his back, silently spasming. He made a sickening noise when he hit the ground, but the worst of it was that he was still alive and choking on his own blood.

She... she hadn't meant to do that. She had aimed for the head, to make his death quick and painless. But... no, she didn't have the time to dwell on it. It was cold, but it was the true. She had to survive and get back to where she belonged. Back to the academy, her friends. Her sister. And to Shirou.

She ducked low. The bullets went past her head; she had never so grateful for being short. When she looked up again, gun at the ready, that girl was there. Neo. The inhuman girl who had effortlessly broke an attack with all her streght and speed behind it-didn't even have to use her her Aura- and had punched her in the gun, shattering two of her bones. Ruby tensed even more, and she felt her heart leap to her throat.

Neo's expression turned dazed, for some reason. She looked down at the soldier. Then she got on her and knees. Her movements, quick and spasmodic, didn't remind her of the dying soldier below that strange girl but of some spider. The soldier, his eyes wide and round, started to writhe harder upon seeing the girl, like he was trying to escape. Ruby thought that it was a coincidence, that his movements were due to the blind panic that came with being in the throes of death. But the other soldier had complete took his attention off her, and his whole body was shaking. Ruby stopped breathing.

The girl opened her mouth, and dug her teeth into the dying soldier's neck. Ruby's eyes widened. The soldier tried to push her off of him, but he didn't even have the streght to lift his hands, so all he could do was weakly trash around. It didn't do any good. Blood flowed from where she was biting, staining her cheeks and going directly into her mouth. She watched that monster's throat going and down. She was swallowing the blood, and with gusto. It was a horrible spectacle, but she found herself unable to look away, paralyzed by terror and indecision.

The other soldier turned and ran for it. Neo didn't move an inch. Before Ruby's very eyes, the soldiers body started to rot away as his struggles grew weaker and weaker and then completely stopped. Soon enough, his body looked like a year's old corpse. She had completely sucked his body dry of blood. She heard soldiers turn the corner, and guns being raised, but she paid them no mind.

Neo rushed for her, teeth bared in a snarl. Ruby aimed for her head, and fired. She missed. The bullet went throught her shoulder. The wound didn't even slow that savage animal down. She bit her lip, and aimed at the power box, and fired. It hit its target, this time. It broke. The lights went out a moment later. Most Faunus had night vision, but whatever that girl was, it wasn't a Faunus. She had to bet on the chance the darkness could hide her from her and slow down her advance. Ruby turned, and rushed for the open door to the right that she had noticed earlier. She slammed it shut, and locked. It wouldn't slow down them down for much, but every second could make a difference.

She couldn't see a thing, not yet. Her eyes didn't have the time to adjust to the darkness. It didn't matter. As part of her training under her uncle, he had forced her to spar against him blindfolded. She was as dangerous in the light as in the dark. Of course, that supposed she could heard that thing coming before it got to her. But she couldn't dwell on those possibilities. Before she had blow up the power, she had seen that beyond the door there was a parking space and also that it lead up. It should go up to the first floor. Or at least, she hoped so. She could think about what to do if she was wrong if it happened, and not a moment sooner. She heard the soldiers bang against the door, for a few second. Then silence. Then there was the ripping of metal. Ruby pace speed up even more.

As she went up, she idly noticed that she wasn't hearing footsteps at all. That was strange. The soldiers armor didn't seem heavy at all, but it should very complicated to move stealthily in such things. More over, they had not reason at all to be stealthy in this situation. She only had this gun as her weapon, and good knows how many bullets left. She could control the flow of the battle well thanks to the whirlwind, but she had to wait about thirty seconds between uses. But she could only use hit and run tactics in this kind of situation for so long, and once the gun's bullets depleted, she was doomed. No matter how she looked at it, the odds weren't in her favor. They should know that, too.

That meant that they had another reason for not moving after her. Ruby tensed. Was she moving towards a trap? If she was, she couldn't do anything about it. She knew since the beginning that this was like trying to swim a river upstream. All she could do was prepare herself for it, anticipate her enemy and react accordingly.

She ran up three floors without stopping. She didn't know the layout of this place, but this was a parking space. As long as she ran throught the middle, she should be fine, since the cars would be lined in the left and right sides. That was she ran throught this door, instead of dashing past Neo. The soldiers would have the advantage of not only knowing the layout, or at least most of them, but also of having night-vision. This evened the playing field, somewhat, for how long would it last.

There was the sound soft of feet against the floor, so soft that for a moment she thought she had imagined her. Then she felt a fist embed itself in her gut. Ruby winced, but steeled herself. The impact sent her reeling back. She felt sick, and black spots danced around her vision. She somehow managed to straighten herself. That streght. She couldn't see anything, but she knew that the enemy in front of her was Neo.

Her eyes narrowed. She had caught her off guard twice, but this would be the last time. She listened. Her uncle had taught her to heard a move, and not relay on her vision. A fist swung for her face. She ducked, and tackled the opponent. She hit her, and managed to move her a two steps back, but nothing else. A kick this time. But they were too close for her to avoid. Neo hit her the knee of her right leg. The pain was so much that it almost made her drop to one knee.

Almost.

Ruby kicked Neo in the head. It didn't do much good, either. Her enemy grabbed her by the throat, turned her and smashed her face against glass. She heard it crack. From the way her body was positioned, she realized she had got smashed against the glass of a car. She felt blood welling up her throat; she spat it. She tried to get herself out of her enemy's grip, but it was not use. The glass shattered. Inward, so the shards didn't cut her face.

She stuck her arm throught the hole, and groped blindly for one of the shards of glass. Neo smashed her face down again, this time against the car's the hood of the car. She tried again. She could still smell the blood flowing from the wound of her enemy, so... maybe she was being crazy, but the thought couldn't leave her mind. She grasped one of the sharps of glass, uncaring of the pain, and buried in her opponent's side. Neo gave a cry, mostly of surprise, and Ruby took advantage of that to slip out of her grip. She grasped the shard of glass again, took it off and stabbed it throught her opponents right eye.

Neo screamed. It was the sound of a wounded animal; it didn't have any trances of humanity. The enemy struggled to get her off with great force, but she stood her ground. Her life was on the line. Ruby pushed the shard of glass deeper with both hands. If the shard managed to penetrate her brain, she would be fine. She had been right. This _thing_ in front of her didn't have an Aura. It was only a matter of time before she would get killed.

Yes, only a matter of time. But it didn't last. Neo managed to push her back into the ground. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, somewhat, so she saw how that thing grabbed the shard of glass stuck in the bloody mess that once had been her right eye and pull it off. The shards of glass was drenched in blood, that ran down it and fell to the floor. Drip. Drip. Neo threw it aside, and straddled her.

Ruby's mind went out of control. She imagined those sharp teeth digging into her throat, and her own body ending up like the soldier she had shot throught the throat. But most of all, she thought about Shirou. He would be crushed. She couldn't die here. She struggled, for all it was worth. Neo's breathing grew closer and closer.

An explosion. Smoke and dust billowed, and there were several hard impacts that lead her to think the ceiling had collapsed. She felt Neo back away from her. Suddenly, there was light. Ruby looked back.

Ozpin was there, his expression impassive, holding a stick. Blake, Weiss and her sister, with her hair aflame, encircled him.

The cavalry had arrived.


	15. To Their Places

**Chapter Fifteen**

Next Ruby noticed the giant hole in the ceiling, but that didn't pull her attention for much. The lights turned on, and a lot of soldiers of the White Fang entered the parking space from both sides, and aimed their guns at the group. She clearly saw how her friends and her sister tensed, ready to act. Then Ozpin took a step forward. The soldiers visibly tensed.

The Headmaster raised a hand towards them, and made a little gesture. His Aura expanded, and send the mass of soldiers flying. She heard several sickening cracks; she was painfully aware of what that meant. Before the soldiers would have a chance to recover, he lifted his arm and swung it down like a sword. A forced pushed them back. They landed in a head, and against the wall. More cracks.

He grunted. He brushed his glove covered palm against his mouth. The back of his hand came away stained with blood. As stupid as it sounded, that made her tense. She remember the Emerald Forest, Shirou hunched over with his back against a tree, waiting for dead and satisfied with it. His words a long time after it. That he had got the handle of it, that it was just pain. Her throat was suddenly dry.

"I warned her already. That you wouldn't get a scrap of mercy if you continued like this. You brought this on yourself. " Ozpin calmly said, his voice rougher. An inhuman hiss followed his words. He turned towards her... no, towards Neo. The stick suddenly changed to a sharp looking blade.

Ruby turned to look at her enemy, and immediately wished she hadn't. The two times she had truly seen her, she had at least looked human on the outside, but there was nothing human remaining in her anymore. Her face was an interconnecting web of pulsating, black veins. Her eyes were both black as a moonless light.

"I'm sorry, child." he said. "Nobody should have to go through something like that. There's no value in such a life. But I can't do anything for you. The only thing I can give you is peace, Apostle."

Apostle. Ruby knew that word, but didn't understand what Ozpin meant by it. Still, the implications were terrifying. The mere thought that there were more things like that girl and, worse, that it could been spread around made her skin crawl.

Neo snarled, got on her hands and knees, and dashed towards him. He gestured again, impassive. Ruby expected to see the thing go flying, but the push of his Aura didn't even manage to move her. She continued, until she was almost a blur even to her eyes and jumped for the Headmaster, her teeth bared. He didn't look worried; he merely clunked his tongue, and raised his weapon.

The Apostle didn't back down; when she got close enough, she lashed out with her hands, which now were more like claws. His sword was pushed back in one blow, and held on against her strength for only one more instant. The sword went flying out of his grip, and the claws slashed him in the face. They didn't cut him, but they send him reeling back. The rest of the group moved to intervene, but he somehow managed to straighten himself and punched the thing in front of him in the face, sending her into the ground.

The thing took advantage of her set back to try to kick his legs out from under him. He wasn't fast enough to avoid being hit, but the pain of the impact didn't make him fall, just drop to his knees, looking dazed. Neo got to her feet, and lunged for his unprotected throat, her mouth wide open. The next moment, she was send flying. Ruby followed her with her gaze all across the parking space. She hit the wall with enough fore to make it cave in, only narrowly avoiding to go right through it. She slid down the wall, shaken, her black eyes only half-opened. Ruby let out a breath she didn't even now she was holding. The next instant, Neo disappeared right in front of her eyes, without leaving a trance. She tensed, expecting an attack.

She heard a grunt of pain, and turned to the source of the noise, alarmed. It was not what she had expected, thought she didn't even now what to expect in this situation. Neo was nowhere in sight. The Headmaster was on his hands and knees, his calm composure broken for the first time since knew him. He was retching. What was coming out of his mouth wasn't puke but blood with a tinge of black. The group approached him, but he waved them off.

"I'm..." he coughed. "I'm fine. Just..." he didn't look fine at all, and it wasn't just the blood. His eyes were wide and unfocused; he looked like he could fall over any second now.

"Well, with all due respect," Yang interjected. "You look like shit."

"We don't have time for this." he snapped. He forced himself to his feet -the effort was visible in his body language- and made another gesture. The sword went flying towards him. Along the way, it turned back into a stick. He cached it in his hands without even looking. "We're in enemy territory. We can't afford to diddly dally or make the slightest mistake, Miss Xiao Long."

"You just whipped the floor with so many of their soldiers without even trying and send that freak show running." she retorted, hands on her hips. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"I can't keep that up indefinitely and, in any case, that wasn't what I meant." he sighed. "Just be careful. All of you."

Ruby stood up, started walking towards her sister and almost fell along the way. She looked down at herself. Her legs were trembling. It was natural. She hadn't been hurt, not too badly, but the stress had clearly got to her. She was a Huntress; she was far for a stranger to danger. But till, she had never faced a situation quite like this. She had only had serious fear for her life once before, in the Emerald Forest and in all those kinds of situation she at least had some degree of control over the whole mess. But here she had been weaponless, and forced to kill to survive. She could still remember the shard of glass digging into her palm as she tried to push it deeper and deeper, into Neo' brain. It had been as ruthless as what that thing had done to the soldier, or close enough, and she hadn't even thought twice about it.

No. She stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. Bad things had happened, but now the Headmaster was here, and her friends and her sister. Soon enough, everything would be alright again, like always and all this terror, confusion and pain would become a distant memory. She was sure of it. He was waiting for her, so it had to been like that. Yang ran towards her, and so she started running too. They hugged each other. Her sister lifted her up like a little kid and spun her around, which normally would have been mortifying, but Ruby found that she didn't mind. It was good to be back.

Yang set her down, with a bright smile. Ruby let herself relax. Her sister was smiling, so things were fine. In the back of her mind, he had doubted he had made it, but now those doubts could be put to rest. There was no way she could been smiling right now if Shirou was dead. She didn't even need to ask. But still, she needed to know how he was doing.

"How's Shirou, Yang?"

Her sister's face fell. Ruby felt herself tense again, and her mile froze in place. No, she had to calm down and no jump to _stupid_ conclusions. She was just surprised she had asked that, now of all times. And nothing else. That didn't meant Shirou was dead.

"He's..." Yang swallowed. "He's dead, Ruby."

She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She didn't care. It was not real. Not real. Not real. This was only a nightmare her mind had cooked up due to the stress of tonight's party. When she waked up Shirou would be there for her, alive, happy, smiling and they would dance together and she would work up the courage to confess to him and somewhere down the line they would do it, they would been a family and _oh god this_ _couldn't be happening_

"Ruby." she called out to her, hesitantly and held out a hand towards her shoulder. She shoved it aside. She could clearly see the hurt in her eyes, but she couldn't care, not now. She felt like she could come unwrapped from the core of herself and float away like a tumbleweed in a high breeze.

"I'm fine." Ruby replied, feeling exhausted. "Did you bring Crescent Rose?"

"Of course."

"Good." she said, and froze. She had time to breath now, so she became really aware of what she was holding in her hand. She threw it away, feeling disgusted. She had used the very same thing that had killed Shirou to save her life. What a sick joke. The Headmaster walked and pocketed the gun. She felt the odd impulse to wash her hands, as if they had been tainted. She didn't try to stop him, because she recognized the gun was important, as much as she disliked it.

Her sister took it from her back and threw it at her. She caught it in mid-air, and activated it. The familiar weight in her hands made her felt safe. She gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white, but didn't say anything. She noticed that Yang was looking at her with... pithy. Yes, that was it.

"We don't have time to waste." she icily replied, without meaning to echo the Headmaster' words. "Just drop it."

They moved forward, in silence. Ruby felt a bit uneasy, despite the people she had by her side now. Why that woman had called Weiss, despite that she already had everything she wanted, was obvious. She was counting on the Headmaster throwing himself, the staff and the guard into a situation were her and her little army would have the advantage, to get such a major threat out of the way before they could even have the chance to interfere in her plan. Yes. What made her uneasy wasn't that, but what she had took from him in the dance: the sheath. She didn't now what it was, not really, what it did nor how it fit on that woman's plans, and that put her on edge. She was starting to really hate surprises.

She decided that it didn't really matter. That sheath belonged to Shirou, so she had to take it back. Before, she had been forced to leave it behind to survive, but now, there was nothing at all to stop her. She would do it, no matter what. And she would kill that woman for what she had done.

The soldiers came in waves after them. Ruby went ahead of the group, and used the recoil of Crescent Rose to propel herself forward. She cleaved through the sea of soldiers with gusto. They were pitiful. No mater what they did, they were so slow, so uncoordinated, so weak. They thought they could wipe off humanity? They? Ah. As if.

 _Are you there Ruby? Are you?_

It was a stupid question, but she didn't fell alive at all. It was like she was watching herself through a film projector. She felt great satisfaction, seeing them receive their just desserts for their crime, but the feeling of detachment as she used her sniper-scythe to cleave through their armor, break their necks and use them as shields against the barrage of their own allies was unlike herself. Wort of all, in a sense, was that it didn't worry her. They deserved it. Not just for Shirou, but for all the people they had killed, the families they had broken. She was sympathetic to their cause, she really was, but that was not the right way. In the end, they were only murders. They only deserved to die.

They all deserved to die because of what they did to him.

She realized only just then that she was laughing. It was a high pinched, maniac laugh that echoed in the underground complex in a creepy way. That made her thoughts grind to a halt. She stopped. The soldiers that had rushed at them were already finished. Most of them were simply out of consciousness, if badly hurt. But some of them were dead. There wasn't much blood, but it was quite clear. Whiplash, punctured lungs, broken necks or simply being hard enough that the heart gave out. And, of course, the wounds the soldiers that she had used as shields had sustained. Her vision started to sway. It wasn't a carnage, but…

That there was so little blood only made it all the more horrifying to her eyes.

The Headmaster was impassive. The others were looking at her with expressions of horror. Except for Yang. She looked about to cry. She couldn't stand those looks. She bend down, and retched. She felt like she was dying. It eventually stopped. Her throat burned, and she could felt the taste of blood in her tongue. Tears stung in her eyes.

She had killed so many people, and with such savage glee... They were criminals, yes, but it hadn't even been done in self defense but pure mindless rage. If Shirou had been there to look at her now, he would have been disgusted. That thought made her tears fall. Shirou... is just, it had hurt so much. Holding on to that shred of hope, and seeing it been smothered in front of her very eyes. She felt like she could have died that very instant.

 _Sad events, miserable deaths- the cold reality that hurts my heart. T_ _o continue on carrying_ _all the pain and the weight… isn't that how lost things remain?_

His words. She could clearly remember them, even now. What he had said on that day had been engraved in her heart. That was it. To carry the weight of her mistakes, suffer for them. She couldn't take back what had already happened, but that was the least she could do. She forced herself to stand up on her shaky legs. Nobody said anything. In the distance, an alarm was blaring. She too a deep breath, and released it. It was fine. She could do this.

"I'm sorry." Ruby said, like it could be washed away just like that. Still, she felt the need to say it. "Won't happen again."

She was a Huntress. She couldn't lose sight of what she had to do, even thought she had lost people. No, that wasn't quite right. The people she had lot was all the more reason for her to not stray from her path. She owned that to the people she couldn't save, the people she had killed for the sake of it. She owned her mother and, most of all, she owned it to him. He wouldn't have wanted to see her like this.

They moved forward. It hadn't took too much time, but it sure felt like it. What had happened was still painfully clear in her mind. As it should been, really. But that didn't meant it didn't hurt. Not too long after, Blake frowned for some reason. In about a minute or so, she heard the unmistakable sound of the engine of a train starting up. Question was, for what? Escaping? Carrying the sheath to a safe place? Both, maybe, or was there something she didn't now about?

Didn't matter. Those questions would just slow her down. Once the train had been stopped, they could dig for their secrets for how long they needed. And that woman. If nothing else, she had to kill her. And then destroy her plan, whatever those were, so Shirou could rest easy. She gripped her weapon so hard her knuckles turned white. She understood the moment she looked at her mother's eyes as she died, choking on her own blood, that the world ran on the rule of nature: that was all there was between life and death. She had been prey far too many time for her liking, but that ended now.

They arrived, but a few moments too late. The train was already moving, and soon it would go out of view. They could catch up to it, though. If they hurried. Ruby took a step forward, and immediately felt a strange sensation wash over her. Her vision disappeared in a vaporous blackness, and in the next moment she heard the click of her red boots against steel. They were inside the train, just like that. Oh, so that was how they had arrived on time.

When they stepped into the next room, she heard a strange sound. She looked back. The r detached in front of her very eye, and went backwards with great peed. It hit the wall, and exploded. It opened n hole in it. Rubble and dust fell, obscuring the wreckage for a few moments. This... this didn't me any sense. Why would they throw away their own resources on a whim just for stopping them? Because the Headmaster was here? Maybe... but somehow, she doubted it had anything to do with that. It was just a feeling.

Soldiers rushed at them, but as at defense, they were pretty pitiful. It didn't take her long to realize that they weren't even trying to take them on, just staying on the defensive and using hit and run tactics to slow them down. That, by itself, was nothing strange. They were better trained, equipped and were faster and more maneuverable in the tight space of the train, so they didn't have much of chance. Their odds would have been long, even in wildly different conditions. O maybe it was only natural. But she was getting the feeling that this train didn't matter, that whatever they seeking to do now was only a distraction.

"This is just a distraction... probably." she said.

"Maybe." the Headmaster replied. "But we have to stop it, anyway."

She really couldn't argue with that. As much as she wanted to kill that woman, Shirou wouldn't never forgive her if she prioritized vengeance over saving people. She didn't like letting the woman get away, even thought it was just for now, but she could bear with it and do what she was supposed to do.

When the door opened, they found three people in the middle of the room. A bulky, big White Fang soldier with a chainsaw for a weapon, Roman Torchwick, and Neo, in the middle of them all. She looked human again, and... refreshed. That word brought with it an unwelcome mental image. She wondered, just for a moment, what poor bastard had served as a snack for that thing and how it had happened. If that woman or Roman or whoever had gave the order or if she had just picked one at random, like cattle, and sucked all the blood out of him or her. Oh, god. she felt truly sick again.

 _Then again, maybe I don't have the right to call her or what she has done disgusting. Not anymore_

They got into stance. Shirou wasn't here but, in the end, they were still team SRWB. They would stand together, and prevail. Neo gave an little mocking curtsey, one hand on her hip and another holding the open parasol above her head. Roman aimed his cane at the Headmaster's head. The big White Fang soldier revved up his chainsaw.

* * *

Cinder Fall let out a breath.

Things had gone well. That girl had surprised her, sure, and for a moment it seemed like underestimating her had gotten her killed, but she had prioritized getting away rather that killed her for what she had done to that young man. She would have liked to get rid of her, of course. She knew damn well the lengths a person could go for vengeance, but the group had chosen to stop the train-she didn't think that her little ploy could have managed to foll Ozpin for even a moment-, and so she had got away with the sheath, so it was fine. Everything was in its proper place.

The soldier's carefully placed the sheath on the altar, in the center of the room. She closed her eyes. Few things scared her, that was for sure. This was one of them. If she made even the smallest mistake, everything she had worked for would go down the drain. Not even she, as powerful as she was, could be able to stop it. She opened them again, and took a step forward. The red circle in front of the altar almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

"Bare and silver and iron. Stone for foundation and the Grand Duke of contracts. My great master Shveinorg for the ancestor. A wall for the descending winds. The four gates shall close and come out the crown. Let the three-forked road to the kingdom cycle."

She felt herself grow colder; her energy, her very life, was being sucked by the magical circle. For an magus, it would have been different. They would felt an unbearable heat, as if their nerves had be send on fire.

"Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Five times for each repetition. Just destroy the enclosed time."

She didn't know the full details, but she knew that the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, had ensured the shut down of the Holy Grail with support from Lord El-Melloi. But that system wasn't needed. She herself would supply the energy to maintain King Arthur. Even thought that would leave her nearly dry, it would be worth it. With a such a powerful Servant by her side, not even that inhumane monster, Ozpin, could oppose her.

"I announce. Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."

Wind rose out of the center, the place of connection. It had a great weight that threatened to shallow her, but she stood her ground.

"I make an oath here. I am the one who shall become the virtue of all afterworld. I am the one who shall lay out the evil of all afterworld. Thou art Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance…!"

She waited with batted breath for the wind to die down, despite herself. When it did, she almost stopped breathing. A knight was in the middle of the summoning circle. Just by looking at her, anybody would know she was something beyond humanity. Long, flowing blue dress over her armor. Otherworldly beauty, and exuding an aura of power that made her hands tremble. So this was a Heroic Spirit. King Arthur. Nobody in this world could oppose her if this being was at her side.

"I ask of you." Arturia began in a clear voice that carried like a bell. "Are you my Master? I have come forth in response to your summons. From this time forward, my sword shall be with you and your fate shall be with me. Now, our contract is complete."

Cinder felt herself smiling.


	16. Out Of Sight

**Chapter Sixteen**

Arturia had been summoned once before, and this was too strange. Now that she had time to think about it, it was clear that something was off. Several things, in fact.

That this woman had Avalon, to begin with, was a little odd. With those monstrosities, the Grimm, rampaging around she had expected it to get lost eventually once it was out of her hands, but Kiritsugu and this woman had both managed to find it. At least sixty years had to have passed since that whole mess- she hadn't no way to know if she had been summoned to the fifth or the six war or what. Second, she had a rudimentary grasp of magic, enough to know that the feeling she got from her Master was... strange. For one, she didn't have even a trance of magical energy, but what energy she did have was almost dry. She had great reserves, but it was costing her much to maintain her in this world. Far too much, as if...

As if the Grail wasn't there to take the majority of the burden of supporting a Servant off the Master's was her first thought, but she pushed it aside. She didn't event want to consider such a thing. It was more likely that this woman, no matter how good of an Aura she had, it wasn't as good of a method to drawn energy from the soul as magic circuits. Arturia frowned. It was a problem, but she could work around it, if her Master was cooperative. Unlike Kiritsugu.

The woman knelled in front of her. Arturia was ac costumed to that, as the King, but it caught her off guard. She hadn't meet many Master's who treated their Servant's with some modicum of respect-Irisviel didn't count, though she had been her Master more than that man had ever been-, much let put themselves in a position of subservience. She still remember seeing Lancer's pride as a warrior stepped on by his own Master, and how that same Master had throw his protector away like a toy once the tables had turned. And, of course, everything Kiritsugu had done to her. So, yes, it came as a surprise but it didn't reassure her at all. It put her on edge. It made her wonder how twisted this woman was inside. She wasn't proud of that suspicious, but it was the truth.

"Arturia." the woman said, her head still bowed. "Please, you have to help me. You're our only chance."

Help? That was too strange. If she wanted help with something, as her Master she could just use the Command Spells. But well. She could give her a chance and hear her out, at the very least. If she was asking instead of forcing her, maybe she could be a worthy Master for her.

"What do you meant?"

"I explain this world first..."

"Not need." she interjected. "I understand the bare essentials."

"...Fine." that small pause was curious, but she didn't know enough about the situation nor about her to even guess its meaning. She should know the Grail gave the Servants the necessary information, so she couldn't be surprised because of it. That she even felt the need to explain to her, when she was fairly powerful and clearly experienced- the magical circle confirmed it- was too strange. "I could explain, but I think showing you will be better."

The woman stood up, turned and walked away. Arturia followed her without question up to a big 'computer' screen, or something like that. Her Master fiddle around with the controls; she didn't know what she was doing, it was beyond her, so she just impassively stared forward, waiting to see... whatever she was supposed to see.

Static; it cleared up in a few seconds. It was an unfamiliar place, but the sight wasn't. Burning building's, screams. It had been pretty much a daily occurrence, one way or another. Sacrifices, hate, anger. A cold reality. As the view went through the wreckage, she could almost smell the burning and the thick smell of death. A building crumbling. A child stuck underneath wreckage, his leg a mangled stump.

A girl landed at his side. She was wearing some kind of uniform, and a spiral sword clenched tightly in her left hand. She keeled, whispering reassurances to the trapped kid, got her free hand under the rumble and pulled it off of him. Her eyes were watering, but she was otherwise unaffected by the fire. Or maybe she was simply crying.

A stray blast of ice. It the ground near them, and exploded. The girl was merely throw back a few feet, but the boy received the full brunt of the impact. He didn't even have time to scream. The flying chucks of ice tore through his body in an instant, and pinned what remained of it to the ground. His eyes were wide and round. His mouth was half opened in a scream that hadn't come and would never come.

Arturia bit her lip. She didn't like watching this-how could she?- but she couldn't bring herself to look away or say anything. It was a horrible scene, brutal in a sense that not even she had experienced, but it was something that just... happened. She couldn't stop things like that for ever happening again but, most of all, she couldn't protest that it was unfair or anything like that. She knew. She knew damn well that she had caused many scenes like, and caused her soldier to see that. She would do it again, because it was what it was. In war, everybody who could hold a sword would be forced to do it if push came to shave, regardless if they were prepared for it or if they knew how to fight. But that didn't stop her for feeling disgusted. At what she had seen, those who had caused it to happen and, most of all, at herself.

"These are images from The War." The woman said. "We're in times of peace, but things have not changed. Not really. They're just more subtle about it. The lives of children' treated like toys. Huntsmen, Huntress. Roles build up for their own into this power fantasy, something all children should aspire too. Of course, nobody tells them of the weight and the pain that comes with it. They all have been lulled into complacency, so they don't see the Grimm as the threat they really are, just a distant bogeyman to kept them in line. They smile, joke around and when reality strikes, they bent. The lucky ones, anyway. Most of them just break. And who cares? Nobody. To the government, they are just cogwheels in their little power games."

She turned, and held her gaze. Gone was the subservient behavior. Now, she seemed almost predatory. She carried an air of heavy finality.

"This how it is," she continued. "The government. Poison, a cancer rooted deep in us. If we're not careful, it will cause the fall of the four Kingdoms, of the state of relative safety so many heroes have lied down their lives to obtain. I refuse to be dragged down with them. I refuse to let even one death be in vain. Will you help me?"

Arturia didn't even need to think about it.

She gave her answer.

* * *

The fight wasn't going well.

It shouldn't been like that. The enemies were out numbered, Neo had got hauled round like a rag doll by the Headmaster not too long ago, and Roman wasn't even a fighter, but still, thing were spiraling out of their control. Roman stayed back, by the door, shooting at them. His weapon had a good kick, but with their Auras still up the only thing they could was shook them for a second. Problem was, that was exactly what he was looking for. Those small distractions gave the other two openings, and they exploited them, _hard_.

Neo was as strong and fast as ever, so one little mistake against her and everything could crumble. Every time the Headmaster tried to use his Aura against her, like back then, the Apostle disappeared in the shadows and appeared an instant later. As things were going Yang would eventually match her in strength, and then surpass her, but it didn't matter. The enemies were not even trying to beat them, just slow them down so the train could reach its destination. Making them lose so much time would be a victory for them.

The chainsaw guy was nothing special. He was an exceptional soldier, at least compared to the White Fang members she had fought before, but he just wasn't at the same level as the other two. But, of course, they couldn't take him lightly either. His weapon was strong. Five or so consecutive hits, and even their full Auras would go down. It seemed like too many hits, like they left more that enough breathing room, but it wasn't. Not really.

All in all, they complimented each other well, and they knew how best to make use of each others strengths to push back them back, make openings, exploit them and drive them further and further into a corner without leaving them room to breath. Even so, it wouldn't have worked normally. They would have broke through them if they could have fought evenly… but they couldn't. Dust. What had made the carriages explode hadn't been bombs, but Dust. If they got careless with its use, they would just blow themselves over, so their options were limited.

She and Weiss relaid on Dust heavily, so their effectiveness in combat was greatly reduced. And for her, it was even worse. She used Crescent Rose's recoil in combat, so she was pretty much just swinging around an oversized gardening tool, for how effective it was.

Ruby bit her lip. It was so frustrating. It was supposed to be her turn to fight back, but she could hardly do anything in this situation.

Before they could do anything, the three of them jumped out of the train without saying anything. She was confused, but not for long. This… it didn't have no destination. The carriages of the train hadn't been taken off because of them, but because the explosion would open a hole the Grimm would use to get into the city. That's why they had been concentrated on stopping their advance. And now they had jumped off because they were about to reach a dead end that would kill them all. They had been played.

"Weiss!" The Headmaster screamed. He a few cuts here and there, but no serious injuries, like the rest of them.

She immediately understood. She stabbed Myrtinaster into the ground, and used the ice dust to form a shield that encompassed all four of them. It was a strange sensation. It wasn't cold, but more like being underwater. She couldn't move even an inch, and she couldn't see anything but the ice. In the distance, like a world away, she still heard the train. A crash, immediately drowned out by a huge explosion, then white.

Ruby blinked her eyes open. A blur. Smoke, debris, and the smell of something burned. Her back was against something cold and hard. The world slowly came into focus. She hadn't noticed it, but she must have lost consciousness after that mess. But that wasn't important. She looked around. Blake and Yang were slowly getting back up; her sister was coughing heavily. She saw Weiss sitting up against a large piece of debris. She saw her looking, and gave her a thumbs up to signal she was okay. Or at least, as okay as she could be. The Headmaster was in the middle, on his knees, holding his head with his left hand.

She sat up. Her legs shook a little, but she managed to straighten herself. Civilians were looking at them, with expressions of confusion and alarm. Vale. This was the city of Vale. A growl from behind her. She whipped her head towards the source of the noise, and saw a King Taiju slithering out of the hole. More and more Grimm followed, their howls soon followed by sounds of running and screams of terror.

Ruby felt strangely calm. They… they intended to have the Grimm wipe off Vale, and assume control of the Kingdom and, eventually, Remnant's whole civilization. She remembered mother's eyes, the sounds she made as she choked on her own blood. The White Fang didn't care and all about the people they would kill, the families they would destroy. She lifted Crescent Rose high.

"Fuck that." she muttered beneath her breath, and jumped.

She didn't brother to say anything. What they had to do, the only thing they could do, was obvious. Draw their attention, to minimize casualties, and hope reinforcements would arrive before the tide of Grimm would overwhelm them. Because they would overwhelm them, eventually. They were just first year students; this situation was beyond their capabilities. Even with the Headmaster here, their odds were long. No matter how strong he may be, he was just one man.

The Grimm fed on negative feelings, which would always make the civilians, full of hate and anger and fear, their targets. But even so, they were animals, not machines. If they were attacked, their attention would shift to them. The rest followed. Together, they managed to draw the attention of some of them, which in turn drew the attention of many more, since they were recognized as a threat. Still, a lot went into the city. She could heard steel bending, glass shattering, roars and howls and blood curling screams. But they couldn't do anything. The mass of Grimm soon managed to back them into a corner, in the centre of the ruined square. They were so many… as much as she hated to admit it, that thought gave her pause.

She sucked in a breath, and released it. She had been training for this, and now push had come to shove. That was all there was to it. She had to do it. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if this was how mother had fell in the battle which had ended her life, before squashing that train of thought. Tears stung in her eyes, making her vision slightly blurry. She didn't need that distraction. Not now.

"What do we do?" Ruby asked. The best question was, really, what they could do now. But she couldn't bring herself to say that on loud.

"Survive." Ozpin answered. "And wait."

It was precisely the answer she feared, but she knew that was the only one she was going to get. After all, it was the truth. She steeled herself, and raised her weapon.

That served as the signal.

Grimm rushed towards them,-a surge of darkness- their mouths opened. Their sharp teeth glistened in the early morning's light. Ruby stabbed her Scythe in the ground. At least, now she didn't have to restrain herself. She had some degree of control over this horrible mess. Cold comfort, sure, but better that no comfort at all.

She used the scythe as leverage to kick away the Grimm that lunged for her, to give herself some breathing room. They had not chance to win the fight from the beginning. The only thing they could was do their best to last for as long as they could, and, most importantly, cut away the swarm of Grimm as much as they could to reduce property damage and casualties. They were Huntress. This was their mission. She knew that well.

Even so, it was hard. Harder that any fight she had ever be in before. Her fighting style compensated for the lack of room, but only to a certain extend. No matter how strong and fast she was, there were just too many of them. Every time she knocked back or killed one of them, two were ready to take its place, their red eyes glowing red with blood lust, anger, and all evil of the world. Ruby couldn't even spare the effort the time to look around; the only thing she could was fight her own fight and trust that her teammates would be fine.

It wasn't enough. She knew all too well that many people were dying and she wasn't able to do a damn thing.

A strained yell. She looked up, and saw her sister in a Nevermore's claws. The creature diving down to earth, slamming her sister into the ground with bone-crushing force. An instant later, before she could do anything, a white hot pain traced her back diagonally. She screamed, and dropped to her knees. Grimm piled on the top of her, making her fall to the ground on her back, slamming against her Aura. The attacks would eventually overcome it. She struggled, panicked, and trashed around, but it was all for nothing. The weight on the top of her didn't let her swing the scythe and, in any case, she could only barely hold on to her weapon in the middle of the onslaught. Occasionally, a bullet went through one of those Grimm's, sending it flying, but it wasn't enough.

Ruby heard her Aura shatter.

The Ursa's claws lunged for her throat. At that moment, a gush of fierce wind. The Ursas's on the top of them went flying away with snarled screams. She started incredulously for a moment, thinking how close she had come to dying miserable, choking on her own blood, just like her mother. And then she started laughing. She scrambled to her feet, her body trembling with fear and adrenaline.

The Headmaster had been the one to save her. He looked ragged, sickly and like he could fall down any second now. There were a few dozen bleeding cuts beneath his slashed shirt, which were healing right now. He couldn't continue this for much longer. To be honest, none of them weren't in a good shape now. Far for it.

She heard a loud noise, and whipped her head back. A Death Stalker was right in front of her, and her Aura was still down. Its stinger whipped down towards her throat. She saw it coming clearly. It was fast, but not nearly as fast as she was. There was no way she couldn't dodge it. And she did. The stinger would only give a glancing blow, but like this, even such a blow would be the end of her. There was nothing she could do now.

A blade of ice whirled past her head, and narrowly hit the stinger in mid-attack. It didn't do much damage, but it threw the course of its attack off. The stinger went harmlessly past her head. She felt to the ground, threw herself to the side, rolled, came to her feet and backed away from the creature. Her Aura. She had to buy time so her Aura would recharge, so…

She looked up. A lot of aircraft's crossed the sky, almost obscuring the sun. The ships opened up, dropping off Atlesian Paladin's from the sky. They were different models from the one they had fought not too long ago. They landed, and started gunning down the Grimm. The machine guns of the ships soon joined the onslaught. The Grimm were driven back, and overwhelmed. The combined fire from the machines took down even the Giant Nevermore's soaring across the sky, and the three or four Death Stalkers that had come crawling out of the hole.

Ruby watched the slaughter in front of her eyes, stunned. So this was Atlas. The strongest military power of Remnant.

* * *

"I can't." The answer came unbridled to her mind. "Are you telling me that the current government is definitively evil because there was a war once, so many years ago? I can't accept that. Nobody could. Don't treat me for a fool."

"Ah." she said. "But there's more."

Another video started. There were four people she didn't know, with their desk's in a circle, talking between each other. They were talking about war. About starting one. They weren't reacting to an attack, they just sought war for profit. It was like the Grimm were all but forgotten, like they were a problem only those who lived and died in the spaces between the countries had to worry about. More images from the war, then. Atrocities. Humans killing each other, instead of fighting against the Grimm. Then videos from the present day. Atlas constantly building machines to straightened themselves, when they were already the strongest military power. Vale and the other kingdoms pushing kids to the breaking point for the sake of having a private little army. Some more so that others. This...

Arturia could understand what the other woman was saying. The way they operated was clearly self destructive; it wouldn't take long for the fragile peace to shatter under that weight. Like her Kingdom had shattered under the weight of her, an unworthy ruler. This woman, whoever she was, was seeking to avoid such a disaster. If she was telling the truth, and all indicated that she was, it was only natural to help such a person.

"I understand." Arturia said. "I will help you, Master."

"Excellent." she breathed out.

Her smile grew wider.


	17. His Cold Lips

**Chapter Seventeen**

It was over soon. The Grimm couldn't stand up against the might of the Atlas military, and Glynda Goodwitch sealed the breaches in the ground. All that was left in about ten minutes was help clean up the Grimm's that had survived the onslaught. It wasn't a pretty sight, at all. The familiar city had been twisted by the savagery of those monsters. Broken glass and blood and corpses littered the streets. In this hell, there were few things which retained their original form.

No matter where she looked, all she could see was people she hadn't been able to save. Lives ended, families destroyed. Hope's smothered. It was the reminder that, no matter how safe it all seemed, the Grimm were the bane of humanity. Once the walls were breached, not everyone would be saved. And one day, maybe, everything would crumble and there would be nothing but signs that there was once people here and the scattered dust. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

 _Sad events, miserable deaths. The cold reality that hurts my heart. To continue to carry all the weight and the pain… isn't that how lost things remain?_

His words. She knew it was true, but still the feeling of emptiness inside of her didn't dissipate. It was only natural. She remembered. A distant night, under a full moon. The tombstone at the cliff side, where her mother's body rooted beneath the earth. She had come there with a heavy heart, not even knowing what to say. It was the first time she had come to that place. In the end, she hadn't said anything. She had swore to herself that she would become a person her mother could be proud of. And, of course, she also ended there because, in a sense, she wanted her to see how far she had come along. Ruby didn't believe in something beyond the mortal world, not in any sort of reincarnation, but for some reason she had felt her mother watching her at that time. Perhaps it was just wistful thinking. She didn't know, not really.

But what she knew was that she wasn't becoming a person her mother could be proud of. This, all of this, was partially her fault. She should have seen the whole scheme for what it was. She should have stopped it. But she hadn't. All the people that had died here, today, had died because of her mistakes.

 _I've already been taught that there are people who I can save and there are people I just can't._

She didn't say anything. The others didn't, either. She caught Yang occasionally sneaking glaces at her with a look of worry, but she concentrated on their work. As it should be. She knew her intentions were always good, but she didn't want to talk about any of it. She just wanted to take her angers out of those beast's. It was wrong, she knew that. But she couldn't bring herself to care.

The cleanup didn't take much. Most of the Grimm had been annihilated in the assault, so all it took was chase down the stragglers and kill them before they could do anymore harm. They got in the nick of time to save a few people. They thanked them while crying and smiling widely. It didn't make her felt any better. She had saved them, but there were a lot of people who hadn't got saved. So what right did she have to felt good just because of that?

After that, they helped with the reparations as best as they could. All the teams of the academy who weren't away of missions, that's it. And also, as a preventive defense, just in case the Grimm would manage to open a hole in the earth themselves and attack again. The Headmaster stuck around to help too, though he looked pale, sickly. Almost like a corpse.

They couldn't do much. Take this here, take this there. Hold something or another. But at least, it was something. It took her mind off what had happened, and that was all she needed.

Shirou wan… had wanted to carry all the weight and the pain, but she just couldn't. Not now. Too many things had happened, and too fast. She hadn't even had time to breath. She felt like the world was trying to squash her down, and so she wanted some kind of respite. Was that so wrong? Well, wrong or not, she needed it and that was that.

It took some time, but the damage was fixed. Nearly two days. They only rested at night. Well, fixed… the outer damage, anyway. But the inside damage would run deep through this city, this whole Kingdom, for a long time. Through the whole of human civilization, really. The fear that it would happen again. The missing people, the deaths that they had witnessed. Their homes, broken. The screams and the blood and the corpses. People would live, grown and replace the things they had lost, but they couldn't forget. Not really. The pain would linger.

Ruby felt so sick she could puke her own guts out.

* * *

When all was said and done, they got on the airships of Beacon. They weren't separated into teams, but they all agreed on sitting together and Yang stayed with them instead of going to her own team. She didn't know how to felt about that. It felt good that her sister stuck with her, yes, but that protectiveness made her felt vulnerable. She wasn't delusional. She knew she was in a bad place. All the same, she didn't like to be reminded of it. But of course, no matter what she did, she was going to be reminded of it. There was a void in her life that couldn't never be filled again.

"Ruby," Yang muttered, long enough for her to hear but not long enough to be overhead. "Can we... can we talk about it?"

She sounded hesitant, afraid. That alone almost made her cave in. But.

"No." that was the only response she could give. She had already come to terms with it. There was no meaning or reason in digging around her fresh wounds, especially at a time like this.

"But..."

"Cut it out, Yang." she sighed. "Look. I know you're worried, and that's nice at all, but it would do me a world of good if you just… let me rest. Deal with it at my own pace. This… This is just not a good time."

Left unspoken, of course, was that she didn't really think there could be a good time for that. Her sister knew that well, too. She had always been able to pick up things like that without her needing to say anything; it sounded corny, but it was the truth.

"...You laughed." of course, that she understood it didn't meant that she wasn't going to persist. "I understand you killing them, in a sense. If they aiming to kill you, the only thing you can do is strike back with even more force. But you laughed. You enjoyed it, even if it wasn't for long. And that… that scares me. Not of you, but _for_ you."

"Of course." she let out a bitter little laugh. "Bet you wouldn't feel like that if..."

She stopped, all to aware of what she had been about to say. That… she wouldn't have even thought of saying something like that normally. It had got to her more that she had thought. Much more. But still…

"You're right." Yang said. "If you had been hurt..."

Ruby looked down. Her. Her first thought hadn't been not of her mother, but of her. That made her felt good, and terrible, and… god. She let out a breath.

"Well, I surely would have took pleasure in killing them, every last one of them. So I guess I can't lecture you about it, but please, kept in mind that is not healthy. You just break down if you continue on like that. Kill them. Kill all those responsible for his murder, but take care and don't lose yourself." she smiled. Just a little bit. "You're strong. Others might think you're small and helpless, but I know you're a warrior. You will deal with it, but that doesn't meant it won't cause you pain and, sorry, but I just can't stand that. So… I want you to talk to me, to let me help you. But I know you aren't like that. You need your space just… just like back then. If you need me for something, just say it. Okay? I know I'm nagging you at a bad time, but please remember that I'm doing this because you're my sister and I love you."

Ruby just nodded. She couldn't trust herself to speak.

* * *

She felt the airship land a moment before the engines stopped. They went out without saying anything. The night sky looked stark to her eyes, not beautiful. The cold, crisp air was an annoyance. The silence was starting to grate on her, but she couldn't bring herself to speak up either. She stopped, and turned around. In the distance, the city of Vale was visible. She heard the others stop. She stared for a few moments, then turned around and kept walking. They pretended that nothing had happened. She was grateful for that.

Her thoughts ran wild. Now that the breaches in Vale had been fixed, the Grimm dealt with and the restoration efforts had succeeded, there was nothing for her to do. She felt cold, distanced from the world and with nothing to stand on. Like at that time. That was what Yang had said before, and Ruby was starting to see that she was absolutely right.

It was clear to see in their eyes that they pitied her for how it had affected her, and she hated it. That pity. She had been in psychiatric evaluation for a month, after she saw what happened to her mother. Nobody ever scolder her for going out to see mother fight, in the first place. They all looked like they were restraining themselves for crying every time they looked at her. They panted her head, her back. Told her everything would be alright for now on. That mother wasn't going to come back, even though she damn well knew that she was gone forever. She had see the truth in those eyes.

They meant well. The pity, that concern, meant they cared for her. But she couldn't help but fell irritated by it all. She was strong. She was a Huntress, not a child. She could dealt with things like that. She wasn't going to break. Mother's death hadn't broken her, and Shirou's death wasn't going to break her, either. The pain of his loss wouldn't never die down, even at the moment of her death, but it wasn't going to break her.

She was strong.

She was strong.

She was strong, so dammit….

Ruby wanted to scream, but the only thing that left her throat was a strained yelp. She buried her head in her hands, and tried to push away all those thoughts, just like she pushed away thoughts about her mother during that month and many other times before. She couldn't stand it. She really couldn't stand it anymore. No matter how much she tried, she kept coming back to _it_. His savage expression. The words he had screamed. The hellish sound of swords grinding against each other. Him dragging himself towards her, single minded purpose clear in every one of his movements. She couldn't even imagine the pain each step was causing him, and yet he didn't scream. He didn't even protest. He just went forward, forward, forward. All for her sake. Because he loved her. Had loved her.

And now he was gone.

"Ruby..." Yang muttered. She felt one of her hands on her shoulder an instant later.

"Where is he?"

"Ruby, he is d..."

"I know! I'm not delusional. Where's is his… his body?"

"Uh… In the infirmary, I suppose. To preserve I-him for the funeral."

"Take me there."

"Ruby..." she took her hands out of her face, and held her sister's gaze resolutely. Her vision was slightly blurry with tears.

"Take me there."

There was no room for a retort. Yang turned, and started to walk without a word. She followed her. She hadn't said anything to them, but Blake and Weiss followed them anyway. Well, she wasn't going to tell them to go away. She didn't have any right to do it. And no matter how much Shirou's death had hurt her, fact was that those two had lost him, too.

Inside the infirmary, there were a bunch of people who she didn't know. She asked them about Shirou. They were reluctant to let her see him. She pleaded to them, and almost burst into tears again, but the point was that they let them in. She asked her friends to let her go inside first, alone. They didn't protest.

Ruby took a deep breath, and entered the room. His body was there, on a table in the middle of the room. He wasn't protected by glass or anything. His body was preserved by the extreme cold of the room. She walked to his bedside. Like the last time he saw him. His body was mess of interlocked blades. Only his neck and up were unprotected by blades. She tenderly ran her hands through his messy red hair. It was wet and sticky with blood. Not even if she closed her eyes she could be able to pretend this was a normal scene. But still, it felt… nice. And also it felt like a dagger was digging into her heart. The chance to love and be loved by him had already been lost forever. She only had the memory of their two kisses, their bodies against each other. How he had said that he loved her, moments before the disaster.

What could he do now, if he was in her place? That was the question that came and went through her mind. Honestly, she didn't think he would have fared any better that her. To him, her death would have been a personal failure. It would drive him all the more into becoming an Ally Of Justice. Somebody who could save everyone so nothing like that would happen ever again. It would have marked him deep. If anything, it would have been worse for him.

 _So I… sad events, miserable deaths. The cold reality that hurts my heart. To continue to carry all the weight at the pain… isn't that how lost things remain? There were people who died in pain. There were people who mourned for their deaths. But pain doesn't have to be the only thing that remains. I refuse to let it be the only thing that remains._

She brushed his hair out of her eyes.

 _I admired him. I admired how happy he looked, and I thought it would be great if I could live that way._

"Shirou." she muttered beneath her breath, her voice broken. Tears were falling freely. Her vision was a hazy blur.

 _It can't be helped, so I take your place. Its impossible for you since you're an adult, but it should be alright for me._

"That's right." she said, as if to convince herself, a little more firmly this time. "Whenever you are, Shirou, there's no need to worry. I take on your dream, and make it come true."

Then she kissed him, and closed her eyes. Cold. His lips were cold, but she didn't care. She grabbed his head in her hands. She stayed like that for god knows how much time, lost in her own thoughts and the contact. Their third kiss. As one-sided as it was. She wanted more, much more. It was not fair that he had died the same day they had confessed their love for each other. There were still so many things to do for them, so much time, and it was all lost. There was no turning back. Reality couldn't be overturned. Dead people couldn't come back. It was as simple as that. A hero only existed to straightened out what had already happened. Every time she thought about that impossible miracle, more and more tears fell out of vexation and, most of all, pain. She felt like she would be swallowed.

After a small eternity, she opened her eyes again, and slowly drew back, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I make it come true." Ruby smiled. "I love you."

Yeah, that's right. There's no way wanting to help people could ever be a mistake.

This path… it wasn't the wrong one.


	18. Goodbye

**Chapter Eighteen**

With a heavy heart, Ruby went back. None of the three asked what she had done inside, why she had taken so long. That was good. It was better for all of them not to speak about that and, besides, she still had something to do. His death had hurt her so much she thought she might die herself, but that didn't meant she was the only who had lost him. So she had to do it. If they hadn't done so already, anyway. She doubted it, since there hadn't been a moment of respite since the attack at the dance.

She took off her scroll. Back then, on the same day they had send out to face the White Fang themselves, she had looked over his shoulder and memorized the number he had called. Even then, she was infatuated with him. She memorized the number simply because she wanted to know everything about him. Now it was impossible for her or anybody to know to know more about it, of course. But, well. At least she knew _her_ number. She picked up almost immediately.

"Ruby," Taiga's voice was warm, happy. "What is it?"

She opened her mouth to say it, just those three words, and closed it. She swallowed loudly. How could she said something like this to her? And yet, how couldn't she not said it? She didn't deserve to be giving an impersonal 'I'm sorry for your loss' by the Headmaster, or one of the staff in the infirmary. She deserved the full, honest truth.

"What's wrong?" she continued. That she was so concerned for her, when she didn't really know her, only made her fell all the worse. "Did Shirou do something insensitive? Just tell me. I give him about a good lecture."

"He's..." Ruby managed to say. Her voice was dangerously close to breaking. "He's death."

"Uh…?"

"I'm sorry. I said I would protect him, but he died protecting me because I was reckless. I'm… I'm sorry." she didn't know what else she could say.

"How… How did it happen?"

"The White Fang attacked at the day of the dance. I got captured because I didn't bring a weapon on me, and Shirou died trying to get me back."

Silence. Ruby almost stopped breathing, wanting for her to react in any way. For her to curse her, condemn her. Tell her that she should have die in his place.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Taiga simply said, even thought her tone made it clear that she was holding back her tears. That left her floored. It was her fault. It wasn't guilt, but the simple truth. If she hadn't rushed at Mercury, they would have taken her hostage. Shirou wouldn't have pushed himself so hard, and he still be here. Alive, happy, smiling. They would have fought together, and chase down their dreams together. But he wasn't. Because she had done it. Because rage and terror had made her lose control for a few seconds, and those seconds had sealed his fate.

She didn't deserve forgiveness.

She didn't deserve anything at all.

"W-why?" Ruby managed to choke out. "You… my fault. Mine."

"I'm sure it wasn't..."

"I…" she swallowed. "He fought because I was captured. And I was captured because I rushed at the bastard who shot him without a weapon, when I don't even know the first thing about melee combat."

"Well," a pause. It seemed long to her, even though it really wasn't. "Even if it so, I'm sure that he doesn't regret dying for your sake. Rather, he would regret that he hadn't been able to save you… I'm not saying that he didn't care about dying..."

"No, no." she answered, her head held down. "I get what you meant."

There was nothing she could say. After all, it was the truth.

 _Get lost! She can't smile if you exist!_

"You do? Then don't blame yourself. Is just how he i-was." the woman said. Ruby knew she should blame herself because, really, it was her fault. But she couldn't bring herself to argue about this.

"Okay." Ruby weakly agreed. "I'm sorry you weren't notified sooner, too." she continued, trying to change the subject. "I meant, it isn't really my fault this time, but," she bit her lip. "I was kidnapped, and then the Headmaster, my team and my sister went to get my back, and, well. You know, the breach accident. Then we had all to help with the reparation efforts, so there really wasn't any time for that."

"Why are you even apologizing?" Taiga gave an out a strained little laugh. "Oh, well. I guess that's just how you are. You really remind me of him..."

Once again, she found herself lost for words.

"Hey." she continued. "Would you li-come to the funeral? It would make me happy to see you there, but I understand that you wouldn't like it. You're so young."

She hadn't been to her mother's funeral, and hadn't visited her tombstone by the cliff side until that night. She wasn't about to make the same mistake.

"I'll like to go." Ruby said. "No, more like I need to go. For closure… Also, if it isn't too much trouble, can I take my friend and my sister with me?"

"Sure thing… One last thing. Please, don't do anything… you know."

"Any…? Oh. Oh! No, no. I'm not even thinking about it."

"Uh… that's… that's good." she laughed, again. This time her laugh sounded sincere. It sounded stupid, but it lightened the mood. At least, to her. "Well, see you, Ruby."

"See ya."

* * *

In the dream she saw him coming towards her, with his body made out of swords. Blood stained his clothes, his skin, his hair and the blades. He looked pale and sickly, like a corpse, but his eyes were still opened. He walked towards her through a field of white, red and yellow roses fluttering in the slight breeze. The sound of swords grinding against each other mixed with the sound of his heavy footsteps. Those sounds spread across the field like they were in an echo-chamber.

Ruby walked towards him too, with her arms extended as if to embrace him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an unfamiliar tombstone in the middle of the field, about ten meters back. She couldn't read the words on it, but she didn't really try, either. Her mind was in a haze. She was feeling distant from the world itself. All her senses had been ground down until only a shadows of their former self's remained. She had to get to him, and he had to get to her. That was all that remained in this hazy world.

They reached each other in what felt like an eternity, and embraced while the wind rose in the cold night. His hands rested on the small of her back. In contrast to his appearance, his body and his hands were warm, really warm. Resting her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and breathed a sign of relief. There was no pain, not even a small cut, but that didn't even cross her dreaming mind.

His hands went up her back slowly. She arched it, and let out a low moan. She felt her face flushing. His hands went to rest at her shoulders, and then advanced again. He wrapped his hands around her throat, and squeezed. An instant later, she was seeing herself, like it was all a video. She seemed so very small and vulnerable at that moment, almost like a child. But she didn't gag. She didn't try to scream. Her expression stayed placid. She gave him a small, sad smile and put one hand on his cheek. She tenderly caressed it as he put more and more force, and she felt her hair, her very life, leave her. Then she was looking again through her eyes, as black spots danced around her vision. It grew dimmer and dimmer. She didn't take her eyes off his face from even a moment.

It was getting hard to breath, but she didn't feel any pain. She didn't fell anything at all. Her swaying vision didn't bring her dizziness, and she couldn't form a coherent thought. Was that how it felt to be death? It might be. A crack. Then a spiraling darkness.

* * *

She waked up screaming incoherently, and crying, barely aware even of what was going on around her. She curled up into a ball. Moments later, she felt arms wrap around her and embrace her. Four arms. Blake and Weiss. She hugged them back, almost desperately, and started crying harder. It was warm. She was back where she belonged, and yet not, and her was a big mess. She remembered the words of the tombstone. They hugged her tighter, and rubbed her back, her hair and whispered things she could only barely heard. Eventually, she managed to calm down a bit.

At some point, though she didn't know knew, Weiss started crying too, but silently. Her own outburst was really embarrassing, but they were understanding about it. They ended up sleeping on the same bed, though they barely fit in, still embracing each other. Ruby went back to sleep soon enough, the memory of the nightmare all but forgotten.

* * *

Ruby waked up sweating, with her night clothes stuck to her skin in a messy and uncomfortable way. Only natural. It was a wonder one of them hadn't fell out of bed during the rest of the night, to be honest. They had to squeeze themselves to even fit in the beds together, so of course she was sweating so much.

She got up. Of course, she waked them up the process because, really, it wasn't possible to move without that. She got changed quickly into casual clothes, and headed for the Headmaster's office. She explained what she was going to do to them, and they followed. She went searching for Yang, found her on her dormitory and they went to the Headmaster's office together. Now that Vale was definitively out of danger-if Grimm had been able to break through, they would have done so already-, he would definitively let them go to Japan for Shirou's funeral. It wouldn't take long and, in any case, team SRBW wasn't going to missions yet, so at the most they would miss a day or two of classes. Nothing serious. There was no real reason for Ozpin to refuse.

Of course, adults often didn't need any reason to push around a child or simply reject their opinions and feelings. But Ozpin was different. At least, she though he was different. She hoped he didn't prove her wrong.

He didn't. They asked him about it, and he accepted without putting any conditions, or asking any questions. He still didn't look good, but at least he seemed better that two days ago. When she asked him about it, he just dodge the question, so she didn't press it any further. They got out of his office. She had thought about calling her father to arrange for transportation, but Weiss beat her to the punch. She arranged for an airship of the Schnee Dust Company to come to the academy and take them to Japan.

It arrived in the afternoon. Since it was convenient, the airship also transported Shirou's body. While the employers wheeled him inside, she didn't look away for him. She didn't cry, either. Cold comfort, maybe, but better that no comfort at all. The ride was comfortable. Excellent food, excellent accommodations, excellent service. It awed her. It wasn't like her family was in financial strains, far for it, but this was a whole different level. More so because she was fully aware that this was just a taste, so to say, how Weiss daily life.

The ride was surprisingly short. They spend the whole time watching some movie whose title she couldn't quite remember. She hadn't paid much attention to it, true to be told. The fight scenes were cool, though. Totally unrealistic, but cool. Still, there were really few of them, so she spend most of the movie in a mindless haze, eating handfuls of popcorn and drinking some soda every now and then.

When they landed, Ruby grabbed her scroll to call Taiga and ask for directions, but Weiss stopped her. She said that they had already got the directions of the Emiya residence. They took them directly to it, with Shirou's body at the back, in a limousine. She stared at his body the whole way through, almost wishfully, but pretended to stare at the scenery instead so her sister wouldn't worry. Well, that probably couldn't fool her, but at least she had to try… Right?

The truth was, she felt guilty for making her sister worry. She always had. Father was away for work half of the time, so, really, Yang was the one who raised her after her mother's death. She had always been taking this on her shoulders, so she wouldn't feel worry, anxiety or sadness. She gave her everything she never had, so it felt unfair of her to make Yang worry. Just like with the friends thing. She had dug her heels in and refused to listen to her sister because mother hadn't gone away from her forever, the person most important to her, and she didn't want to repeat that experience. She was always pushing her problems into her, even though she didn't want to. So she wanted to change that.

But.

Shirou's murder wasn't somebody else's business. She couldn't bottle it all up inside and pretend everything was fine just because it would make Yang worry about her. If she could just brush aside such an atrocity, what would make her different from the White Fang? It was a thin line to walk on. She didn't want to forget. She didn't want to forgive. She would carry all the weight and the pain and make them all compensate for what they had done.

"Yeah." she muttered underneath her breath, her expression hard and determined. "So just wait a little bit, Shirou. I make them pay."

Nobody said anything.

* * *

The limousine stopped. Ruby almost ripped out of the seat belt, and hurriedly got out of it. Oh. So this was the place where Shirou had grown up in, after the fire. It was beautiful, in its own way. She felt tears threatened to come out a way. Feeling stupid, she whipped them away with the back of her hands. She had merely thought that this could also have been the place where they would have settled down together.

How stupid, really. They couldn't have been able to settle down, even if he had survived. Because of her mother's death, she understood that the world ran on the rules of nature, and she wanted to fix that. Even if nobody else cared about it, she wanted to give a life and happiness to those who had been dealt a bad hand and would be dragged down by their nature. She wanted to save people who couldn't save themselves. She wanted to help everybody she could help. It was the same for him as well. She couldn't have brought herself to give life to a child that would surely go through the same things as she had, sooner or later.

Besides. Even if he had agreed to lie down his ideals for her sake… she couldn't have never be happy knowing he was betraying himself for her sake. So it was useless to even think about such a thing.

Ruby stepped forward, and knocked. Her was head was light. She didn't feel alive at all. It opened in an instant. Behind it was a woman. She was wearing a tiger stripped shirt, and a dark green skirt that went past her knees. It was clear for her reddish eyes that she had been crying. This must be Taiga Fujimara. Her heart clenched in her chest.

"Oh, oh!" she exclaimed, voice perky. "You're even cuter in person."

...What? That was strange. They had talked together that one time, but this woman had never seen her. Uh, but, she could be referring to how her voice sounded compared to her appearance. Still. She was curious.

"What do you meant?" Ruby managed to blubber out.

"Wait a sec." she put one hand on her power, and fumbled around until she grabbed her phone and took it on. "I mean," she opened it, and started searching for… something. She held it towards her. "This."

There was a photo. She was there laughing, with a wide smile on her face. Her uniform was drenched with soda, and stained with all kinds of food. Yang was in her side, one arm around her shoulder, smiling and laughing. She remembered this. The photo had clearly been taken on the dining hall, after that food fight. Her vision suddenly grew blurry. This… he had took such a photo…

"I'm sorry!" Taiga said.

He didn't care. He didn't care at all that he wasn't there with them. He didn't need himself in the picture. He was just fine with seeing her happy and smiling. Even at that time, he obviously loved her. God knew since when he had loved her. But that didn't make her felt good at all. It just made her think of the lost time. That this would have been slightly easier to dealt with if they could have had more time together.

She had started to realize he was someone special to her on that night, after the excursion of the Forever Fall forest. What was left of that semester, almost half of it, and a few days. It wouldn't have been much, but at least it would have been something. What she had got was a few minutes of bliss, and then everything descended straight into hell.

Damn.

Damn.

Damn.

She felt hands on her shoulders, Taiga's hands. She grabbed them and took them away. Her expression was full of guilt. It seemed like she had thought the photo would cheer her up.

"I'm fine." Ruby firmly said. The tears didn't fall. "Really, I'm fine."

She wasn't. She wouldn't never be fine again but, well, she had already understood it. What was burned in couldn't be whipped away, and she shouldn't even desire to do so, even if it could. Because if that happened, she wouldn't been herself. For a moment, Taiga looked ready to start crying. Then she gave her a small smile.

"Really." her voice was warm. "You're just like Shirou said you were."

* * *

They entered the house. To her at least, it was overwhelming. The sounds, the smells, the sights. This was the place he had lived him. She had thought must the same thing while looking at the house from the outside, but the inside was a whole different level. Wondering about how he lived, his pain and his happiness. Wanting to see what remained of him in this place. It… It kind of made her felt like a little kid, but it was the truth.

She asked Taiga to show her to his room. She opened the door, and looked. It was much like she had expected, really, and at the same time it wasn't. There was nothing indicating a person had lived there before. Nothing to show the personality of the person who had used. It looked like a guest room. In a sense, it was, but… Anyway. It had been clearly untouched since Shirou left. Well, not exactly untouched. The room didn't stink, so Taiga must have periodically aired the room, but she hadn't touched a single thing. So close enough.

She stepped gingerly inside the room, almost afraid of breaking the atmosphere. She ran her hands through everything she could find, and the went to the bed. She keeled, grasped the sheet in her hands, and brought it to her face. She could almost smell his scent. She took a deep breath, and released it. She got up after a while-how long exactly she couldn't really know- and then explored the rest of the house with them. At the end, she settled down on the backyard.

 _I can't be helped since you're an adult, but it should be alright for me. Let me take your dream. I make it come true._

Ruby looked up. She wished with all heart that she could have watched the same sky as they had, back then. To be here, under the light of the moon. But it was the day, and it was bright, sunny.

Whose dream was that, and who inherited that dream? Those words. I have already been taught that there are people I can save and that there are people I just can't. A hero can only save those he sides with. Shirou had sounded like he had heard those very words from his father. When he had said that he would take his father's dream… Shirou said he had made a face like he didn't need to heard the rest, said that he was relieved and died. It was here when it happened. She didn't know why she was so sure about it, but she was. They had spend their last moments together right here.

 _Perhaps I cried eight years worth of tears, since after that there was nothing._

She closed her eyes, feeling the wind whip her hair back. After a moments, she opened them again.

"Taiga." she bit her lip. "If it isn't too much trouble..."

"What is it?"

"Can… Can I go see Kiritsugu?"

"He's… oh. You know, then."

"Yes. He told..." me, was what she was about to say. "He told us about what happened on the night his father died. We didn't know until then."

"He told all of you?" there was some bitterness in her voice. She immediately realized that he hadn't told Taiga, nor anybody else besides them. That… that made her felt good, and bad. She wished she hadn't mentioned that. "Ah, anyway. Yes, of course. I take you there, if you wish. And your friends too, of course."

"I...I think I like to go alone." Ruby said, looking back at the group. They held her gaze, and nodded.

"If that's what you want." Taiga said.

* * *

Taiga took her to the local graveyard. She couldn't understand Japanese writing-she had started studying it not too long after she meet Shirou, but it was really complicated-, but the woman told her that was Kiritsugu's tombstone. Then, Taiga left her alone. She keeled on the grass, right in front of it, and stared.

This was where the man that had saved Shirou rested. He had admired him, and thought it would be great if he could live that way. He was not only the reason he had survived the fire, but that he had become a Hunter. What kind of person was he? For what little she had, he seemed to be a man beaten down by reality. Somebody who had tried to fix the wrongs of this world, and suffered for him. She didn't know about him, not really. Emiya Kiritsugu wasn't famous. But well, that should meant that he was working on the side of the magi.

She had not knowledge about that world, what was hidden in it. The pains one would have to suffer. She only knew that this man had once dreamed to be a hero, and had passed that dream into Shirou and died content after all his suffering, despite of what he must have seen. The tears. The pain. The memories that disappeared meaningless. The darkness enveloped the world, and it was tittering on the way to its destruction. But that didn't mean that nobody should stand up and fight against it.

 _...But pain doesn't have to be the only thing that remains. I refuse to let it been the only thing that remains._

"Thank you." Ruby said from the bottom of her heart, and stood up. "And goodbye."

The wind blew. She turned her back on the tombstone, and started walking back to the entrance.

When they came back, she found that preparations had already started. Taiga hadn't loss even a single second since she told her about Shirou's death. Two more people came into the house. A purple haired girl called Sakura Matou. Taiga asked her where Shinji was, and she said her brother didn't want to go. That was understandable, but something told her that he didn't want to go not because of the pain, but merely because he didn't want to. Their expressions told the whole story.

Uh… that was strange. He was supposed to have been Shirou's friend. If she knew where their house was, she would have go and dragged him here herself. But she didn't and, any case, it was better to not brother with that kind of people. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why Shirou had made friends with such a person. Perhaps he wanted to change him. That seemed likely.

When they had some time to be alone, Ruby considering asking Taiga for a favor, but decided against it. It was kind of silly, and asking for something because of a dream was even sillier. She was better off not saying anything, though she didn't think Taiga would have told her no, anyway.

They stayed the night at the house. There were guest rooms enough for all of them, but she chosen to sleep in Shirou's room. Taiga let her, of course. She had that dream again. The field of flowers, Shirou coming towards her with his body made out of swords and her walking towards him with her arms outstretched. The embrace. His hands up his back, to his shoulders, his neck. And him straggling her to death.

She waked up sweating, but she didn't not scream. She didn't not cry, either. But she didn't manage to go back to sleep after that. She tried, but she just couldn't. Even throwing the covers off of her and opening the window didn't work. Everything seemed stifling. It was so irritating. She knew it was her own fault for choosing to sleep here, of all places, but that only irritated her even more. For an instant, just a few instants, she wished she could just grab those memories and throw them away where she couldn't find them again. And then hated herself for it.

Sometime after, she heard birds start to chirp. In the distance, the engine of the cars. Horns blaring. She opened her eyes, and saw the morning sunlight streaming through the open window. Oh. She really hadn't sleep for even a second more. It was useless. No matter how determined she was, she only ended up running herself ragged because of her own thoughts. It was like being trapped in a tiny cage without bars. Like when mother died. Like when father stopped just… stopped caring.

Ruby got out of the bed. She hadn't changed, though she had brought a few changes of clothing, so she just headed right out of the room without looking back.

* * *

They spend the day together, pretending things were normal even thought it really wasn't. But the awkwardness was clearly visible in their tones and body language. It seemed like they were extensively planning what to say every time. There were a lot of awkward pauses, lots of uh's and ah's, subject changes and awkward sentences. They all looked like a bunch of theater actors throw to the stage without having time to learn the script.

In the afternoon, there was the funeral. It was her first time going to one, so she didn't know what to expect. She didn't know how things were supposed to go, so Taiga lead her and the group through the motions. She could just have showed up like normal and mourned how she pleased, but, somehow, it feel right to follow Japan's traditions. After all, they were Shirou's traditions too. Black wasn't really her color, but she brought a black dress for it and wore it. That would sound weird to anybody who knew her, but it wasn't that she didn't like black. More like black and red were her colors. White too, but most mostly that.

Shirou was covered with a black sheet, since it would be awkward to explain why his body was in that state. Taiga had been allowed to see him. Though they all warned her that it wasn't a pretty sight, she insisted on it. Ruby had made up some excuse to justify his state that she could hardly remember now when she asked. What it had boiled down to? A Semblance that had gone haywire after he had been almost killed in the dance. They didn't mention anything about the sheath. They couldn't explain it, not even her and saying it would only give her more worries. An understandable reason. Something easy to understand, even if it was hard to digest. At the very least, she deserved to have some peace of mind.

Ruby wouldn't have taken back her knowledge of the sheath, of everything that happened, even if that could have been possible. But that didn't meant it didn't hurt. It was just that not knowing would have driven her mad. Not knowing how he struggled. Not knowing how much it hurt him. No knowing why he pushed himself so much. Not knowing the reason for it, the things she had to do. She would have shattered already it she didn't even know that.

The funeral was a haze. There were few moments she remembered with any sort of clarity, and they were unconnected, like cards shuffling. Most of what she had retained where specific imagines. The clear, crisp grass. The tombstone. The Kanji scrawled on it. His coffin being brought down into the earth, where it would rest forever.

The only moment she felt alive, with grips on her own shelf, was when she looked up to the tombstone once everything was over and done with, the helms of her black dress whipping back and forth in the wind. Father and son besides each other. She had sudden sense of clarity. In the implicit way people understood things in dreams, she understood what had been the words in the tombstone on that nightmare.

' _Emiya Shirou and Ruby Emiya_ '

And below:

' _Here Laid To Rest Is Our Love_ '

Those last seven words keep resounding even after she left, after everybody else left. After the living went away to kept on living and the dead were left with the dead.


	19. Coming Back

**Chapter Nineteen**

The farewell wasn't easy. Farewells never were. Even before Ruby first saw Japan, she knew she would visit it a lot of times, if only to come to the place where he now rested, but still she was reluctant to let go now. She wanted to stay there for as long as she could, but she couldn't have even one more day. She was a Huntress. She couldn't abandon her duty whenever she pleased. She could lie down Crescent Rose and give up of that life forever, but she hadn't and she wasn't planning to do it, so she had responsibilities she couldn't ignore.

She left without the satisfaction of having accomplished something, only with a bitter feeling in her throat. She knew why she had been reacting like this, even though she had mostly managed to kept herself under control. At least during the day. Because… because she had seen the coffin going down, the earth covering it. She had see the tombstone with his name of it, and the people with black suits, black dresses or black kimonos in the crowd all around her. It hurt just as much as when Yang told her he was dead, and when she first saw his corpse. It feel like the universe itself was delighting in reminding her that yes, he was dead, he was dead for real, he was dead and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

God, her head was such a mess. She could barely think straight. The ride back was torturous, even thought it didn't change from before. She desperately wished she could just… shut herself down, and sleep the whole way through. But she couldn't. Now that she had done what she had to done, got some kind of closure, the task before her seemed somehow heavier. She realized she didn't even know where to begin, nor where was the finishing line or if there was one to begin with and that was driving her mad.

She tried to distract herself for those thoughts, to speak with her friends and watch the rather insipid movie they had chosen this time, but gave up pretty soon. Why did she have to pretend everything was normal if he was gone? Shirou wouldn't have wanted to see her like that. He loved her, and he had said that pain didn't have to be the only thing that remained. That he didn't want it to be the only thing that remained.

But he didn't know how much he meant to her. She hadn't told anybody about her mother's death, how it made her felt. Not her therapist, not too Yang. Only to him. And only with him she had felt like somebody could actually understood it. To want to be hero, right the wrongs of this world. Anybody else might have laugh at her intentions, but he not only accept it but understood it. He was special to her, in ways she barely understood even now.

Even after they landed, her head wasn't much clearer. She had only succeed in running herself ragged. She needed to do something about it. They had planned to go out of there to stop them before, so this wouldn't change matters. Yang might refuse to go and refuse to let her go, but it would be easy to convince her and she didn't see no reason for Weiss and Blake to back down because of the sudden shock of Shirou's murder. Blake had got a bad hand from the start, and Weiss was too prideful for that.

At least, she now knew where to get started.

She had to go to the Headmaster.

* * *

He was there. For some silly reason, she had expected to not see him there. In the end, when one thing went wrong people often ended up expecting everything else would follow. Or maybe that was just her. Ozpin raised his head towards her, and held her gaze. He looked more alive today, for a lack of a better word, and that was good, but he also looked a bit worried.

"What do you need?"

"Uh." she mumbled. "Back on Mountain Glenn, you called Neo an Apostle. I want to know what it means, what else do you know and if you knew… if you knew about Shirou's secret."

"I knew he was a magus since the beginning, yes." he said. "It isn't hard to detect, if you know what to look for. As for the rest… you back to your team's room. I've already left a lot of books there from my personal collection. Read them. I can't stop you if you wish to let them read the books too, but I wouldn't recommend that."

"Okay." Ruby nodded. "And that sheath? Do you know anything about it?"

"A lot of guesses, mostly, and only something concrete. That's on the books, too. I sure you make the association yourself once you read it through. But forget about it. It's an extremely strong healing artifact. That's all you need to know. The nature of it is nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"...I kept that in mind. Thank you for your time, Headmaster." she said, and closed the door.

* * *

Books about it, he said. Did that meant the Headmaster was a magus? Or it merely meant that they didn't do anything about it because he wasn't trying to reveal it to the world? Of course, it could be simply because they didn't know he knew. That was the most likely possibility, for what she knew.

If he didn't want the others to know too, he would have to have hidden it somewhere they couldn't have easily found. But what could she did if they found about it, anyway? Wait. There was no need to make up some complicated lie, or anything like that. She could just tell them they were books about mystic stuff, that they were her guilty pleasure. She doubted any of them would look too much into it. Yang would have inevitably found it sooner, so she would complain, but she could just say that she had started recently. Even that Shirou had gotten her into that kind of stuff. It was… emotionally manipulative, there really wasn't any other way to put it because it was the truth, but that way they would definitively stay away from the books if she said so.

She wasn't sure about following the Headmaster's advice about it. He was giving her knowledge so she couldn't fly blind through all this mess, but they were a team. They were on this together. If she needed to know about something, then naturally they also needed to know. Well. It was useless to worry about that when she didn't get the whole picture. She would read everything carefully and judge if there was anything to justify keeping the information away from then.

She entered the room. Blake was reading some novel, whose cover had been taken off for some weird reason. Weiss was nowhere to be seen. And there was a big white box right in the middle of the room, like it belonged there. That… that was weird. What if they decided to open up and take a look? If he cared some much about keeping it hidden, he should have made more of effort. She approached. There was a paper on the top of it, which read 'To Ruby Rose'.

Well. This worked with the excuse she had thought up, at least.

"What's that?" Blake asked.

"Books." Ruby answered. "Lots of books about… well, I don't think you would like it. They're a little weird, but Shirou was into that kind of thing, and he got me into it. So I went and bought some books about it."

"Now you're making me curious. Really, was it?"

"Occult stuff."

"He didn't seem like that kind of guy."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "He was full of surprises."

What an understatement. A flash of that night. The three gunshots she should have been able to stop, the otherworldly sheath shining in that woman's hands. And then, drowning out everything else, his body made out of his works as he determinedly walked forward to his certain death. She grimaced.

"He sure was." Blake said, a tad wishfully.

Ruby opened the box. She felt silly for expecting the books to look like something special, but in a way, they did indeed. None of them had a cover, and they were old. Like, really old. She knew that at a glace. She picked up one of them and, sure enough, they also felt old. She grabbed the box with her free hand, dragged it next to her bed, sat down, opened the book, and looked at the table of contents. There was no specific entry regarding Apostles here, but there was a section about supernatural creatures and sub-subsections that classified them, so maybe she would find some information about them in it.

At least, it was worth a shot.

* * *

She found things, a lot of things. A lot of uncomfortable things. First of all, Neo was what was called a Dead Apostle. The information about where these things descended from was really hard to shallow and about as horrifying, but that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the information about their physiology and the transformation.

Most of them just stopped caring about anything, or just plain were driven insane because of the transformation and the knowledge that their time was stopped and that it was only a matter of time before their soul broke down and they died with it. Thought some just let themselves die, of course.

As their lives had stopped mattering, they sought entertainment to fill the void. They killed and killed for that reason. Those who had survived for a long time were practically concepts as of themselves, and as they lived the cost to kept their souls only increased. A hundred people to mend the damage that, before, one single person would have mended. It was all so… and it was even worse knowing that it was going on right now, it would go on and it had been going out without her knowing. She felt like all her organs had come up of her throat; before she had thought that no matter what truth awaited her, it would have been less horrible that not knowing, but now she knew it wasn't. Her mind wouldn't have never cooked up something like this.

That was all she had time to read that day but, really it was enough. She didn't think she could stomach more things like it. There shouldn't be, at least she hoped so, but she wasn't feeling particularly optimistic. That night, she didn't have that dream. This time, she saw a hellish landscape. Fire, crumbling buildings, burning wreckage, screams of terror and pain. Lots of people crying out for help. Lots of people who couldn't even cry out. And in the middle of the tragedy, a redheaded boy dragging himself through the ruins of everything he had ever know and loved, his eyes wide and round, his expression empty.

* * *

She woke up hearing her scroll dinging. She opened her eyes, and sighed. She hadn't see the same dream, but it was the same in the end. A reminder of what she had lost, and how he had suffered. She absentmindedly took off her scroll, and took a look at it. She opened it, and carefully read it. There were coordinates, and nothing else. It didn't even say what were they for, but it didn't matter.

She put the coordinates in her scroll, and saw that it lead to a warehouse in the outskirts of Vale. Must be one of their hideouts. The Headmaster had only given her the coordinates, so they couldn't been under some kind of time limit. They had more that enough time to prepare for whatever was waiting for them there. White Fang soldiers didn't worry her, not really. Not when she had Crescent Rose in her hands. But Neo… That monster had nearly managed to kill the Headmaster, and disappeared and appeared out of shadows at will. There was no safe place when she was nearby, and the limits of human beings didn't apply to her at all. So she was scared to face her again, even though this time she would have Crescent Rose. Still, it was something she had to do, so she would do it. She had been flying blind before, but now she knew how to best fight that monster. There was no reason to panic.

After reading it, she showed the message to Blake and Weiss. Then they got changed and went to class, as if nothing had happened. It was hard to concentrate on classes, knowing what was coming, even in the classes that actually interested her. Still, she tried her best. Once classes were over, they went straight to the library and started the homework. Yang joined them, too, and Blake took that moment as a chance to explain to her about the message. The homework they gave today wasn't much, but they also had to do the homework of the two days they missed. It even more tedious that ever, but they plugged down on it and by the time night fell, it was finished. Neat, tidy, well done and, most importantly, fast.

Just in time for them to get to the important stuff. Not like learning wasn't important, but there were bigger things in the horizon, bigger that the Grimm and their future as Huntress. If somebody didn't do something about it, they wouldn't have a future to begin with. Maybe they weren't the best people-they were first year student's, after all- but it didn't really matter. If she could do even a little to help against them, she would do it. No matter the risks.

They changed again, prepared their weapons and sneaked out of the academy and into the city. They didn't have much of a plan, but that suited Ruby just fine. Hit and run tactics and relaying on overwhelming force when push came to shove was always her shtick, and she saw no reason to change it for a raid on a White Fang warehouse. Well, she did have her precautions to dealt with Neo, but it wasn't like she could tell the rest that. If she did, they could ask how she knew. She didn't have a proper excuse, and had thought best that didn't know about things… like that.

They knew what what Neo could do, they had seen it for themselves, and they were vaguely aware of what Neo really was. That was enough. They didn't need to know everything. Not knowing it wouldn't get them hurt or worse, so it was okay to not tell them. Maybe it wasn't the right choice, but it was the one that sat right with her. Either way, if she was going to change her mind, she could do it later. Now she only could spare attention for what they had to do.

There weren't any signs of activities outside of the warehouse. No cameras, either. When they got really close to it, she started hearing noises coming from the outside. She couldn't make out the words, only the sound of the words. There were no windows to use as impromptu entrance, so Yang smashed open the front door with the Ember Celica, ripping it from its hinges and sending it flying.

The White Fang soldiers inside were startled, and went from their guns, but they had the advantage of surprise and, besides, they were faster. Especially her. Before they could even arm themselves, she was already in the middle of the group, cleaving her way through it. That was all there was to it. They were only four people, but as long as they beat them down before they could really fight back, get some kind of organization, they would be holding the advantage. That was what combat really amounted to, in the end. Knowing how to best take advantage of all of your opponent's weakness, no matter how small.

There a few dozen people here. There were two staircases leading up, and several doors, but there couldn't be all that many soldiers. It looked like there was nothing important going on here. There were a lot of stolen Dust around, yes, but she had expected something more. Like that woman was there. Or at least Roman or Neo or both. But this was necessary too and she didn't have any right to complain.

Suddenly, all the White Fang soldiers stopped moving. She whipped her head to the side, gripping the sniper-scythe even more tightly. Neo appeared out of nowhere right in front of her eyes, and walked forward, lazily twirling her parasol above her head. She closed it, grabbed it with both hands, smiling, and stopped in her tracks.

Ruby took a deep breath. This was it. The Headmaster had managed to send her running before, so it wasn't like she was undefeated. She could think later about how outclassed she would be against the Headmaster and so that wasn't an indication of anything. She schooled her face into serious mask, and faced her opponent. Neo clicked her tongue.

"I'm not your opponent." she did a little bow, and stepped back, as if leaving the way open for somebody else. A footstep from the darkness. Ruby tensed, waiting for whatever was about to come out that door and into the light. Something even worse that Neo. Another Dead Apostle, maybe. Her first though was that they had got the backing of a Dead Apostle Ancestor, but she dismissed it out of hand. It was really unlikely, pretty much impossible, and also… it had to be like that. If such a thing was there, everything would be over. A Ghoul, another Dead Apostle, a werewolf. Anything but one of those things.

It wasn't any of those things.

Her eyes went wide and round. Her legs started to tremble, and soon her whole body was, too. She barely avoided dropping Crescent Rose. The sound of steel grinding against steel resounded in the silent warehouse.

"S-Shirou…?" Ruby breathed out.


	20. Reality

**Chapter Twenty**

It was undeniable. The body made out of swords, the messy red hair, the bright golden eyes burning with the determination. The person in front of her was Shirou. No, not person. She knew what this absurdity was, even though she wished she didn't. The Dead. What the Dead Apostles used as a familiar. Twisting a corpse with their black blood, controlling them at will. There was not even a shard of humanity remaining in them. A worn-out corpse, and nothing else.

But there was something strange. Neo hadn't even been close to Shirou at that time, let alone bit him. Transfusion of blood was necessary for that. They couldn't just pick any random corpse and inject their blood on them. The blood had to be inserted when the person had been alive, and Neo had never had the chance to inject her blood into Shirou. So it didn't make sense. She doubted that the Headmaster would give her wrong information, so it didn't make sense at all. But she couldn't worry about that. Not now.

Shirou was advancing slowly towards her. She knew enough about The Dead to know that it was only because Neo wanted to taunt her, but that only registered in a back of her mind sort of way. She saw it. The walls of the warehouse became the night sky, and she clearly saw the shattered moon overhead. The ground was covered in red, white and yellow roses and all other persons disappeared. In the corner of her eyes, always in the corner of her eyes, there was that tombstone for the two of them.

Her breathing grew erratic. She didn't know what to do. She didn't what she could do. She knew the Dead were not a real threat, not really. Their composition meant that they would have supernatural strength and agility, but he wouldn't Project anymore nor use magic. His soul was already gone. The Third Magic, materialization of the soul, was impossible as far as she knew. What was approaching her was a worn-out corpse. But still… it was his body. She didn't want to hurt him. Making him groan in pain would shatter her. He had fought and died to protect her. She didn't want to put him down, no matter the circumstances.

Her knees failed her, and she dropped to the ground. Maybe… Maybe this was for the best. She had grasped into that single idea, into taking on his dream, so she could live with herself, but the truth was that she was tired. She was tired of the hurt and the pain. She was tired of losing the people that mattered to her. She was tired of having to force herself through the day. And, most of all, she was tired of the guilt. Atonement laid here. It wouldn't been at his hands, but it was close enough. He was dead because of her, so dying here and now with him would bring things full circle. It would allow her to rest.

She forced her body to relax. Fear doesn't go away with mere determination, but right now, it was a useless weight. She extended her arms, as if to embrace him, and, because she couldn't give him anything else, she gave him her best smile. Each of his footsteps seemed to mix with the sound of steel grinding against steel. Suddenly, she felt hands on her shoulders, shaking her. Yang. It was Yang.

"Ruby, get yourself together!" that was funny. Really funny. How could she get herself together, if she had been broken since she had seen her mother's miserable death? "That thing is not him, it can't be him!"

"I know." she simply answered. Of course. She had never deluded herself, though back then it would have been so easy to just pretend mother was alive and well and that had only been a bad dream, and she wasn't about to start now. She understood how things were, even in this horrible situation. That was precisely why she was doing this.

A blast of ice whirled past her head, and towards it. Ruby stood up, but it was already too late. She didn't even have the time to activate her Semblance. The blast missed it, but when it the ground, it exploded and send it flying like a rag doll. It hit the steel staircase, and fell down again.

"Shirou!" Ruby screamed, horrified. She knew it wasn't him, but she couldn't help it. Her sister tried to stop her, but she dashed to its side in an instant. It got up, on its hands and knees. There wasn't any damage visible, though the attack had been fully intended to kill. That was good. It looked up at her, its teeth bared. The golden eyes she loved so much turned red for an instant. It pounced her, pinning her to the ground. Its hand dug into her the skin of her waists. It hurt, but it felt good at the same time. It was at an end. It wouldn't be compensation, not in the slightest, but what was lost couldn't be returned. She couldn't compensate for such a thing, so this apology was all she could for that.

Its teeth went for her neck… and it was blow aside, once again, seconds before it would tear out her throat. Yang was standing over her with a flame covered fist raised, and silently crying. Ruby swallowed, the weight of what she had been so ready to do in front of her own sister hitting her with full force. That's right. It was something she hadn't even though about, but Yang had lost more that her. She had to make more sacrifices that her. Her mother, and then Summer. Then she sacrificed a lot of time and effort into basically raising her by herself after mother's death. And now she had to seen her own sister throw herself at that thing, ready to die. It didn't matter if she truly deserved to die for it or not. The point was that her sister didn't deserve to be made to suffer through such a thing again.

She… she had only been considering herself. It was a harsh truth to shallow, but it was what it was. Even her pain at Shirou's lost was not at the lost itself, but because she had lost him. Promising to take on his dream had only been a way to kept him alive in her heart. She sought absolution only because she was driving herself mad, and wanted all the guilt, the weight and the pain to stop. She hadn't even thought about the pain Yang would go through, even though she knew it damn well. And Weiss. And Blake. And all friends.

Ruby realized then that she had started crying. She forced herself to stand up on her shaky legs, and held up Crescent Rose high. Her eyes never left the Dead Apostle's familiar. She had no miracle to grant him. A hero only served to straighten out what had already happened. Things lost wouldn't never been mended. She knew that his death was her fault, but that was all the more reason way. She wouldn't selfishly die for the sake of all the things she had dropped on the way. So… she had to take this into her own hands.

Neo moved, and crossed the distance between them in an instant. Yang got in her way, managed to push her back, dodge a high kick and punched the Apostle square in the face hard enough that the ground beneath the thing's feet cracked, very nearly sending it flying. It hit back just as hard, or even worse, but Yang was so pissed off it barely made her reel back.

The familiar stood up, its pulsating red eyes, like a Grimm, fixed on her. It was only an animal moving according to the boundaries its master had send for it, but there was a sort of animalistic conscious in it. That it wasn't lunging for her immediately, like a machine, was proof enough of that. It was guarded, cautious. There really was nothing remaining of him there anymore. Not that she needed to confirm it, of course. It was obvious. So it was also obvious there wasn't any need to hold back. Still…

"I'm sorry." she muttered these words beneath her breath, and charged.

He was fast, unnaturally fast. He couldn't kept up with her if she used her Semblance, but that didn't meant dismiss that fact at all. She was having a hard time keeping up with him. His body not longer had human limitations, since he lacked nerves. What he had was the black blood of Neo flowing through his body. So of course, his attacks were unbound by human limits, too. He would attack from any side, anyway. He was fast enough that she barely managed to parry his attacks, and every one of his punches managed to shook her a little.

Still, she was managing it. There was no meaning in speed and strength if the attacks couldn't reach the enemy. But there was a problem. She would get tired eventually, but the familiar didn't even know what was pain, let alone being tired. It was only a slight advantage, but that slight advantage was tipping the balance towards its favor. She had to get this fight quickly. If she didn't manage it, she would end up dying at its hands for real.

Its body of swords made most of her attack useless, even though there was no Aura to protect him. Even her shoots bounced off of them. All she could aim for was its head and its neck, but even that was a quite slippery target. She aimed for what she thought were weak points in its body of swords, what passed for weak points. It had a lot of openings every instant, since it attacked with wild abandon, and she did her best to take advantage of them, but she couldn't quite get past its defenses.

Somehow, the familiar made a misstep, and nearly fell. Before it could straighten itself, she swung her scythe towards its throat to end things right there and there. But somehow, it parried her attack. No, not just that. It pushed the attack back, and pushed her back along with her sniper-scythe. Damn. The difference between them was becoming obvious… but it wasn't like she didn't have a way to compensate for it. Since it was an animal, in the end, it had been simple to lead it to where she wanted it.

At that moment, she used her speed. The whirlwind she made raise picked it up, and slammed it into the darkness of the room where it had come from. She ran after it, turned on the lights and closed the door behind by kicked it. This room was small. As she had the biggest maneuverability, it would eventually slip out in these tight quarters and she would been able to put it down for good. It would be only a matter of time.

She weaved around it with ease, pushing most of its attack back, gritted her teeth and endure those that managed to hit her, and eventually cornered it. She managed to slice its throat. It lost its balance, fell against the wall and slumped down, black blood pouring from its throat. It was a garbled mess, but the familiar was still alive. It was chocking on its own blood, but it could still move. No, more like it had to move.

Ruby looked on as it tried to stand up, without making the slightest noise. Its struggles only made its horrible wound even worse. She wanted to say sorry, not for Shirou but for herself, but she knew apologizing would only make it easier. So she couldn't do it. It was her only sincerity, since she couldn't do nothing to fix what had been done to him. But at the very least, she would end this herself, and make the creature who had twisted his body so to use him against her atone for its sins.

She raised her scythe again, and finished what she had started. Tears started falling again after she pulled it back. No good. It really was no good, but she let them fall. Even if it was just for a moment, she deserved to been able to cry over something like this. Then she whipped her eyes with the back of her right hand, and steeled herself. Then she turned and smashed the door open with her sniper-scythe.

What waited for her was an unbelievable scene.

Yang was down. Her sister's body was on the top of some broken boxes. She wasn't badly injured, but it was clear she was unconscious. Neo was standing over her, her mouth opened, teeth bared. In the not all that big warehouse, there were two more Atlesian Paladins like the one they had fought on that night. The others were busy with them, and the remaining White Fang soldiers. Ruby didn't lose an instant, despite her shock. She used her Semblance to slam into her with inhuman speed, sending her to the ground. She keeled besides her sister, and slapped her a few times to wake her up. Her hand got stained with the blood that had come out of a small gasp in her forehead, but she didn't care.

Neo slammed into her, sending them both into the ground, with the creature on the top of her. She struggled. She kicked, and tried to slip out of her grasp. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed the creature back. She got her legs under it, pushed them against its stomach, and used it as leverage to throw the creature over her head. She rolled to her feet. She saw the creature hit the wall behind her, and disappear into the shadows. No matter.

She went back to her sister, putting her body over hers to protect her from the stray shots. Her Aura was weak; she could felt it. She could stand a few shots, and more, but she didn't even want to risk her getting injured. Before she could try to slap her awake again, Yang blinked her eyes open. She looked dazed, half-sleep, but at least she was awake now. She had been afraid her big sister couldn't wake up again. There was no way it could have happened, yet her heart beat faster with that fear during those interminable seconds.

"Ruby?" Yang muttered, as if she couldn't quite believe it.

"That's right." she firmly said, holding back her tears. "Now's not the time to take a nap, sister. Get up."

Yang dazed look hardened. Before Ruby would have the time to reach, she pushed her aside. She felt to the ground, and looked just in time to see her sister being hit square in the face by that monster. Yang hit her back, but in the stomach. The monster barely felt it; at least, as far as she could see. It was only natural. Her sister wasn't burning up yet. The energy was building up, but it would still take some time. A few minutes, at the most. But a few minutes could be the difference between life and death.

"Let me take her!" Ruby screamed, but not out of worry. No, she knew her sister could and would overcome that beast. She screamed it because she wanted put down the Dead Apostle herself.

"Get back!" Yang answered. "I dealt with this thing!"

"But..."

"You know why I am saying it! Just listen to me!"

That was true. It would be obvious for anybody. Somebody like Yang, who was a powerhouse to begin with and only got stronger and stronger with time, was the ideal opponent for any Dead Apostle. She knew that, even though she didn't like it at all. And she also knew Weiss and Blake needed her to fight against those things and, in any case, she would help more if she knew there. Between the many times she had been shot, and the hits she had taken from both Neo and her familiar, her Aura was well under halfway, but that still didn't change that fact.

She clicked her tongue, torn between logic and her raging emotions. She made a split decision. She turned away from their battle, and ran forward.

She knew what she needed to finish them off. There were several cases. Not many, but enough. If they were actually filled, that's it. Or if what if they stored was Dust, as the look of the case indicated, and not something else. She got there, avoiding a lot of bullets on the way and getting hit by about as much. She opened the closest case and, yup, it was full to the brink with Dust. The others should, too. She could use this. But, just in case, she took time to open another one. It wouldn't do to waste such a weapon, and then find out that there was no more Dust for her to use. But there was. At least two cases full it. She doubted there was more, but two of them were more that enough.

She picked one with her sniper-scythe, and jumped into the air. She threw it towards one of the Atlesian Paladin's, and used her Semblance to rise a whirlwind that picked up and slammed the case of Dust against the cockpit. It exploded upon impact. Glass went flying. The machine broke down, taking its pilot down with it.

She landed in a crouch, and picked up the next one. Their fire was concentrated on her, but she used her Semblance as she jumped, so the shots missed her. And when she was up in the air, she practically got a free shot. She aimed as well as she could, and did the same thing again. But this time she missed. Not completely, but now that the Paladin was expecting her it wasn't all that hard for a halfway decent pilot to dodge such a move.

Still, it wasn't a complete failure. The Dust case exploded upon hitting the ground next to the machine, taking one of its legs with it, and tinning down even further the already small number of the remaining White Fang soldiers. The Atlesian Paladin could still be dangerous, but now that it was impossible for it to move, it was only a matter of time before Weiss or Blake would get rid of it. The balance had been tipped heavily in their favor, now that those two war machines were out of the picture.

Blake didn't even brother to finish it off, she merely broke the already torn up glass of the cockpit and threw the pilot out. The rest was a slaughter. With their numbers so vastly reduced and their biggest advantages eliminated, there was no real way for the soldiers to counter attack effectively. Blake, Weiss and herself were faster, stronger and had the biggest maneuverability. So it was only natural. Of course, that was not to say they couldn't have been harmed. It just meant that it was pretty unlikely, as things were now. Her Aura was already at the breaking point when everything finished, but nobody got injured in anyway, like she had thought.

Ruby heard something hitting the ground. She whipped her head to the side, and saw Yang on the ground, bleeding from several cuts all across her body and deep gash in her forehead. She was grunting as she tried to force herself to her feet, her eyes half-opened. She didn't know if Yang's Aura had been broken, or if there was so little left the gash was still not healing, but it didn't matter. The point was that she needed help.

Neo took something off from her parasol, a small blade. She froze for an instant. She wasn't even trying to transform her, she just wanted to get rid of her. The knife went down. Ruby pushed herself as hard as she could. The whirlwind hit the creature head on. It didn't manage to move her or anything, but the knife flew out of her grasp. And by the time she had shook off the hit, she was already there, right in front of her, Crescent Rose held high. The Apostle hissed.

Ruby swung down the scythe, and it her target dead on… but it turned into glass, and broke down. She stared at all the broken glass, incredulous. Again. She had missed her again. She wanted to scream out in sheer frustration. They had marched here, prepared and assured and all that was left was a torn up warehouse, a bunch of dead or unconscious people, and absolutely no progress.

An image of the familiar flashed in her mind, the first time she saw it. The time where reality mixed with that nightmare. She shook her head, clearing up her thoughts, and turned away from the scattered fragments of broken glass which were already disappearing and would leave no trace. She prepared herself to salvage what she could out of this mess.


	21. Phantom Pain

**Chapter Twenty One**

Searching the whole warehouse took some time, and the only answer awaited for them was that nothing could be salvaged. Oh, sure. All the White Fang soldiers here were either dead or going to jail, the stolen Dust would be taken back, but in the end, to such a wide spanning organization, it couldn't even been called a set back. They could and would just steal more Dust. And with all the hate and anger of the Faunus, replacing the soldiers they had lost today would be easy.

They had also destroyed two of their Atlesian Paladin's, but it didn't really matter. That they could spare two of their war machines for what was probably nothing but Neo's whims told the whole story. Maybe it wasn't like she was thinking. Maybe turning Shirou into one of the Death would be useful to their organization in some way. Then she would find some small comfort in what she had to do. It seemed dubious, but it could have served as a distraction. And that he had been turned at all told her that it was premeditated. It seemed like wishful thinking, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. But even if was so, it only made it all the worse. That Shirou would be use like that. That none of what happened in this night had been important, or that they had only managed to take away an inconsequential piece of their twisted little puzzle.

And what was lost within all of that? She couldn't express it with words. Even seeing his corpse after getting hadn't hurt so much. His burial hadn't hurt so much. In a sense, it was a natural part of life. An ending. But what happened there was anything but natural. His body had been twisted, bend to the whims of such a horrid creature and send against her to taunt her, to kill her. What she had to do. How she ended things. The blood, the familiar determinately trying to get back up while choking on its own black blood. There were things that would stay with her forever, burned it. There were a lot of memories she wished she could just throw away where she couldn't find them again. But they were burned in, and they wouldn't never fade away. The wound that hadn't even started to heal had been widened.

Ruby called the Headmaster, to see what he had to say about the whole mess. She could have just called the police, but she remembered Shirou's insistence about magecraft being kept secret. And though that maybe, just maybe, the police could be able to extract something out of Shirou's corpse. Hell, just the black blood that was now inside his body would be telling enough. So she wondered what she should do. The answer… she preferred that somebody would give it to her, rather that have to make the decision herself. Did that make her weak?

His decision wasn't what she had been expecting, but she was immensely grateful for it. Doing it wouldn't make it any easier, but it wasn't on the same level. She told them to call the police, and then she went to where Shirou's body laid. She looked, even though she really didn't want to, because she knew she had to see the results of her own actions. His throat had been cut badly. What remained was torn skin, and a mess of blood and the meat beneath. The head was miraculously still attached to the neck. It would be too heavy for her to carry it. It would be too heavy to begin with, but the swords made it even worse. So she picked it up as best as she could. The swords grounded against her Aura, but she didn't mind. It would be a problem to kept doing this for long, but it would only take a few minutes, at the most.

The group stared at her as she advanced through the warehouse, and towards the front door. But they didn't say anything. The smell of blood… she couldn't stand it. No matter how many times she was faced with it, that never got any easier. During the time she had been forced to go to a therapist, to been reminded of what happened, that now people tiptoed around her as if she was glass vase, she often had nightmares of just… drowning in blood. In a sense, she had done so. When mother choked on her own blood, she had took her with her. What would she have been had seen hadn't see that, or if that hadn't happened? She wouldn't never know. No, more like she couldn't.

She opened the door and stepped outside, still dragging the corpse along. The cold night wind was an annoyance. She walked up to the edge, and stopped. She scrambled for some words to say. It was hard. She had made peace with his dead and said goodbye far too many times in the space of a few days, so now she just feel… tired. Still, she found some words.

She told him she loved him.

She told him that she was sorry.

She told him that he had been special to her, and she would miss him forever.

And then she threw his corpse into the waters below. The splash was big enough for the water to reach her boots. She didn't move even a muscle. Her body trembled lightly under the cold night wind and her tumultuous feelings as she watched him sink into the dark deeps, dragged down by the weight of the swords that made out his body. She stared at that spot long after he disappeared from view.

Sometime later, how long she didn't know, she took a deep breath, and turned around.

* * *

The police arrived not too long after. They put the people they had killed in body bags, and handcuffed the rest. They were brought in for questioning. Things like why they were out of there, why they had act acted by themselves and other such things. Of course, she waved a tale out of a whole bunch of lies, omissions and half-truths. It probably wasn't very convincing, but the whole thing was a farce, in any case. Just a way so they could say they had done their job. Weiss was with them, after all. Messing with the heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation was fine way of finding yourself without a job, nobody to take you seriously… or even six feet under, if rumors were to been believed.

...That was a bad joke.

Nobody from the school came. It was unspoken, but they would work to sweep this under the rung. Than that hadn't happened was just more proof that she was right about it. It seemed like all that the police was interested about was covering their own asses. It was a depressing thought, but due to the recent events it barely registered with her. Which was a depressing as of itself.

They got back to Beacon, as if nothing had happened. Yang tried to start some kind of conversation, but she gave up. She knew it well that there was no point in trying, not today, but she needed that time to admit it to herself. Nobody saw them entering the dormitory. Not like it mattered, since the Headmaster could just wave it off. At the door, they parted ways with Yang.

They settled down on their own beds, instead of sleeping together like tw-three days ago. She didn't think she could sleep, not today, but she tried. She didn't dream of anything, for once, and waked up feeling… fine. Not rested or anything, but fine. It was nice change of peace, but that she managed to sleep and well at that, today of all days, seemed like a sick joke. She wasn't even that tired, so she didn't even have an excuse.

She forced herself to get up out of bed, change and follow the rest towards classes. It was the last thing she wanted to do now, but she went anyway. She couldn't complain. She had chosen to do something about it, even though she was only a first year. If she couldn't handle this much, she couldn't possibly do anything worthwhile about the whole mess. She should been able to do at least that much, so she could still hold her head high.

The dragged on, oh how it dragged on, but at least the homework was manageable this time. They had it all finished in under an hour, and they went to the Headmaster's office. They didn't get anything of note during that mess, so the only thing they could was relay on his information. Not that she had any problem with it, just that… it sounded petty-hell, it was petty- but it was so _vexing_. Even though she knew it was stupid, in some way she felt that Shirou's murder was personal and they should deal with it personally, not relaying on a third party.

He was still there. Ruby had been worrying for a minute there, thinking that he would kicked out of his position because of the breach accident, but it seemed like the council wasn't going to do anything about it. She knew red time was messy and time consuming, but it had already been a few days. He couldn't been acting as the Headmaster still if they were going to do something about it.

"Headmaster," Ruby said, then suddenly stopped, feeling put on the spot. She suddenly realized that she had spoken up without even thinking about it, as if was natural. Now that Shirou was gone, it was only natural somebody would take his place, but they hadn't even talked about it and she was already talking like the position was already hers. Why? Because she still loved her, and he had loved her. Just for that reason. That the others weren't complaining only made her felt more selfish. "About..."

"One thing first." the Headmaster said. "Did you decide?"

It took her a moment to realize what he meant by it. If she had decided to kept the knowledge of those books from her teammates, or if she wished to be upfront about it.

"Yes." Ruby clucked her tongue, feeling a little bit irritated despite herself. It wasn't a hard decision. The Headmaster knew, and she knew, and there were surely more people that knew but weren't mages. So what was the harm in having three more people know about it? There was no real risk. "But anyway, I didn't come here for that. I dealt with that on my own terms… unless you thing there's something they should know that it isn't there."

"There isn't." she didn't know if that meant that there wasn't, or if he didn't consider convenient telling them something more now, but that was the only answer she was going to get, so she didn't even try to push it.

"I felt a little out of the loop." Yang suddenly quipped.

"Sorry, sorry." Ruby answered. "We get to that later, okay?"

"Okay."

"As I was saying, Headmaster," she continued. "We came to talk about what happened. And about what should we do next."

"Then do so."

"We attacked before they had time to prepare. Everything was going well until the Dead Apostle appeared. Shirou was somehow raised as one of the Dead. I… I tried to get killed by it, but my sister helped me snap out of that. I fought back, cornered it and managed to kill it. Using some of the stolen Dust, I destroyed the two Atlesian Paladin's they deployed against us." that was about as concise as she would make it while mentioning every important thing. "My only question is… how? How could she have turned Shirou?"

"I don't know, and without studying his body I can't know. But there's only one way I can think how she could have gotten his blood into him, even thought she never bit him." the Headmaster said. "The attack at the dance."

"Eh, but..." she grimaced. "The bullets. That's it, right?"

"I might be way off base, but I can't see any other option." he said. "I admit that, though I know about was really going in this world a lot of years ago, I never thought of that option. It does make sense. Though that means that to create the Dead they only need to insert their blood into a person. The method doesn't matter. That's more terrifying. They could just bite their tongue and spit their blood into a wound, and the person would have no chance of surviving. They could have just..." a dark look crossed his face; it was so full of anger that it almost made her take a step back. "But well, its good to know, too. At least now we can prepare for that kind of thing."

"…So," Ruby asked, hands on her hips. "What now?"

"Now? I be honest with you. I'm pressed for time. I will surely get kicked out of my position once the Vytal Festival passes, and that's not too far away." oh. So it was like that, after all. "I don't know who will take my place, but either way, they are not prepared for it. There are far too many things to kept in mind that they don't even know about. The sheath, the methodical build up of the White Fang's forces. There's no point in even trying to not get kicked up, since they have made up their mind already. I'm sure of it. I'm working on something, but I can't give you anything to do right now. Investigate the White Fang. Stop their schemes, destroy their machines, ensure more of their members get send to jail. It won't stop them, but at least it will slow them down. That's all I can say."

She had expected something more, but she wasn't going to complain. They were at war, no matter how things looked to the public. And this was reality, not a fairy-tale. Good intentions and drive couldn't change how things were.

"I see." she nodded. "Thank you, Headmaster."

* * *

They walked away, after a dry goodbye, and headed back to their room. Yang followed them. None of them said anything. Silences like this were starting to grate on her. Lately, they had been far too common. Nobody knew how to dealt with each other, and so they always tiptoed around the issue. Hell, she was complaining in her head about the silence and yet she wasn't speaking. That was proof enough.

They entered the room. She sat down on her bed, and faced the three girls. Their expressions were impassive. There wasn't even a hint of anger or betrayal. That made her felt more nervous, instead of calming her down. She hadn't done nothing wrong, but that didn't change how she felt.

"Blake?" Ruby said. She held her gaze, but didn't respond. "You remember about the books, right?"

"Yes." suddenly, she looked more serious. It seemed like she had caught on to what was going on.

"Well, I lied. The Headmaster was the one who gave them to me, and the information on them its real." Ruby said. "I can explain what I know so far, if you want, but I think is best if you just read it."

She stood up, picked two books, the ones where she had read all she knew about Dead Apostles, and held it towards. Yang stepped up, and grabbed them. She opened one. Blake and Weiss read the book with her. Minutes passed in silence as they read, and occasionally one of the pages was passed. By the end of it, Yang looked ready to puke. Weiss was grimacing, and even Blake seemed a little affected.

"This..." Yang said, her tone unsure. "Is this real? Are you sure this is real?"

"Yes." she was as sure as she could be. She had seen with her own eyes things she had read on that book and, besides, the very fact that the Headmaster had given it to her spoke of their authenticity. There wasn't any ground to doubt what was on those books. Yang surely knew that, too. She just didn't want to believe it. "Of course I'm sure, sister. I wouldn't have even mentioned it if I wasn't sure."

"Then… it was his body. His real body."

"Yes."

"...Fuck." she looked furious, but her tone was weary and resigned. She could guess what she was thinking. That putting down some copy of his corpse would be better that it would be actually real. It didn't seem like it could make a difference, but it did. That somebody would do something like that, in the first place. That there wasn't even the comfort that she wasn't really hurting him. That his family and friends would go mourn him to an empty grave, when he was rooting in the deeps of the waters because some monsters needed that for something, wanted to distract or spite her or whatever it was. They didn't care at all. Not one bit. Lives were just toys to them. So…

She pushed those thoughts aside, and got a hold of herself. She had already let herself go once, thinking like that, and she hadn't forgot how that ended up. Those images. The blood. The guilt. If nothing else, she couldn't allow herself to think that way again for Shirou's sake.

"Yes." Ruby drily echoed her. "Fuck."

* * *

Arturia considered her situation.

Once Cinder had managed to convince her that maybe, just maybe, she was in the right, she had asked that she show her Command Spells to her. And she, straightforwardly, had replied that she didn't have them. That a Holy Grail War wasn't going on, since it had been shut down by that man and the Master of Lancer.

It confused her. Than that man would try to do such a thing wasn't strange, but than that Master would follow it was. She had seen little of him, but what she had seen was enough. He mocked Lancer's pride, and forced him to join Berserker against her like Lancer was a common dog. Kayneth was an arrogant idiot. He had lost, but he would have wanted to ensure the Holy Grail wasn't shut down for the sake of his family having another chance of winning. But he hadn't done so.

What did that meant? The obvious though was that Kiritsugu's betrayal had a valid reason behind it, but she didn't even want to consider that he had been right. She would refuse anything he said out of spite. More that anything else, she didn't want to do it because it would meant that her country was beyond salvation. That there was no miracle, no way to give them happiness. That the things she had destroyed would never return.

Still, there was no thing else. She didn't have any proof, but it all indicated that there was some reason Kayneth had supported him. A proper magus wouldn't never listen to a heretic who used magic for the sake of himself, instead of for reaching the Root, and relaid of modern weaponry. Which meant that Kayneth had to see a clear, irrefutable proof that the Grail system had to been shut down.

No matter how she tried to push those thoughts away, they kept coming back. As much as she disliked the very idea, It made _sense_. Which left her in a position were she didn't even know where she stood, and she didn't know how to dealt with that. All her life her purpose had been clear, and after now. But now that there was nothing for her here, what could she do?

The answer should have been obvious. End her own existence, so she could pass on and take advantage of her next chance of obtaining the Holy Grail. Something had happened to the Grail in this reality, but if she had got summoned at all it must meant that in whatever reality she ended up it that hadn't happened. It was the most convenient option, but still… she didn't just want to sit around and do nothing, knowing of things were. Cinder wasn't necessarily working for good, but that didn't meant things didn't need fixing. She couldn't forgive herself if she just ignored it when she had the chance and the power necessary to help the world.

She could go around fixing everybody's problems every time she was summoned, of course, but this was something completely different. If nobody did anything, humanity was going to collapse. She had sacrificed many people and killed even more for the sake of her country, but her was still human, so she would help. She had to, really.

Arturia went to Cinder and stated her terms. She didn't not ask; there was no meaning or reason in asking her. She seemed like a good person for what she knew, but acting like she needed any other person's approval wasn't a good decision. She had enough years as a king to know that. Of course, there was a fine line between that and being a tyrant, but the point still stood.

To her surprise, Cinder didn't have even a single objection.


	22. Downward

**Chapter Twenty Two**

"We have to tell this to everybody." Weiss said. Ruby winced, though she had already been expecting that outcome to some degree. It had been her own reaction too, after all, and she couldn't blame any of them for reacting that way when it was only sensible, because they didn't know what she knew. They didn't have the absolute assurance that not spreading it wasn't a mistake because Shirou had said so; they didn't even know he had said it, to begin with.

"We can't." Ruby answered. "Girls, we really just can't."

"And why is that?" Yang asked. She could have said demanded, but there was no heat in her voice.

"Do you think we're the only ones who discovered magecraft?" then, without waiting for an answer: "No, of course not. It would be pretty stupid to think that, considering that it has existed for thousands of years. There are reasons for it, good reasons. We can try, but we won't accomplish anything."

"Why are you so sure of that?" Yang retorted. "Because the Headmaster told you? Ruby, I know he has helped us a lot so far, and he's the Headmaster for a reason, but… I don't know. He might have his own reasons for keeping it secret. And even if he's right, I think we should try anyway. The world deserves to know. They can't just… live their lives, safe and happy, without knowing about these… these monsters."

"No."

"But why?"

"Because Shirou told me." Ruby curtly replied. She felt bad for saying it so nonchalantly, knowing that it would affect them, and make at least Yang cave in, but it was the truth. And he had gave her a good reason, too. She still remembered his words about the Enforcers, about how they were. It had shook her, though she had tried not to show it. The idea that these people would come and mess with their brains… it was terrifying. "I don't need any other reason. He gave me a good reason for it, so I think that… is just not worth it. He said that if we tried, the magi would just send the Enforcers to wipe out our memories. These people are protecting us from the shadows, so is better to leave things as they are."

"Even so, would it been better for everybody to learn about it?" Blake said. "As good as we're doing right now, it would been better if the Huntsmen and Huntress all knew that the Grimm aren't our only enemy."

"Listen. Magecraft gets weaker the more its spread around. Revealing it to the world would only been shooting ourselves in the foot, since the reason humanity still holds so many lands despite everything is because of them. Yeah, maybe we could maintain this state by ourselves… but is it worth the risk?"

"So… what then?" Weiss said. Her expression was bitter, resigned and it seemed like she was about to star crying out of sheer frustration. "We continue with our lives, knowing that some day, somewhere, people are gonna get killed by one of those thing and maybe even used like Shirou was here, and try to ignore it because things are better this way. Is that it?"

"Yes." she knew it sounded bad. Hell, it was bad. But they couldn't do anything to change it, and it would been better for them not to change it. "But that doesn't meant we can't do nothing about it. At the very least, we know. So we can kept at eye out for that kind of thing. We can't possible save many lives by ourselves, but at least we can save some. We can help make things better."

Ruby bit her lip. Those words hadn't even convinced her, so how could she expect them to convince the rest? It was sound, logical and the only real option, but that didn't stop her for feeling like she was playing with people's lives. Like saying that a few victims didn't matter so as long as the world kept on spinning… No, that was exactly what she was saying. But what else could she do? Condemn so many people to die because she felt guilty about it? Either way, there wasn't a right option. She just had to do what made sense, and live with it. Somehow.

"That doesn't make me felt any better." Weiss said.

"I know."

* * *

During the rest of the day, they tried to pretend things were normal. They went out, meet with Team Juniper, and just.. hanged out with each other. Like Shirou hadn't been murdered. Like what had happened yesterday hadn't happened. Like that whole argument wasn't still burning in the back of their minds. And it worked. Somehow, it worked. It didn't push those though away, but it made her felt loosen up at a little bit. She smiled. She even laughed, and found herself having fun for what felt like the first time in an eternity, even though it had only been a few days.

The problem was the night. In the night, she was left with nothing but her own thoughts. She tortured herself with everything that happened, remembering every detail in stark clarity. She wondered what she could have done better, or if she could have, to begin with. She imagined Shirou looking at her with accusing eyes in the dark deeps of the water where she had throw in him, rooting and lost forever like a grain of sand in the desert.

She didn't move even an inch, but she didn't stop thinking, either. So much time passed that she had to get up and go to the bathroom, because she couldn't just sleep like that. She looked at the clock. One and half in the morning. Great. And it had felt like an eternity, too. She got back into bed, and closed her eyes, fully convinced that this was going to be one more sleepless night.

About half an hour later, she gave up, got out of bed, changed and headed out of the room. She didn't have a destination in mind, so she just walked aimlessly. It was cold, but she didn't really care. The chill distracted her from more uncomfortable things, and the walking at least gave her something to do. She was perfectly aware that it wasn't a solution, that she was just running from her problem… but didn't she have the right to do it?

She found herself near that statue after walking mindlessly around for a good while. She laid down on the grass, and looked up towards the night sky. She wasn't tired, of course. She wouldn't have gotten into Beacon if she could get tired just for that. But she was tired in an emotional sense. It just… it really was just too much, and in such a short time. Every time she though things were starting to mend, something happened to make things even worse. She couldn't dealt with all of it. God, it was really unbelievable to think it had been only a few days since Shirou was murdered.

She knew that it wouldn't never heal, regardless. It wasn't as bad it had been at that time, but even now every time she thought about her mother, not necessarily about her death, she would get depressed, though never to an extend of thinking of killing herself. Not anymore. The wounds had faded somewhat, but anybody could still trace the scar. It was so, and it would continue to be so, and everything that happened recently was no exception.

She just wanted time to breath. It seemed like too much to ask, but that was all she wanted. A chance to dealt with it.

She heard heavy breathing, and somebody running. She was mildly curious about who else would be up a this hour, whatever it was, but she didn't care enough to sit up and look for that person. She just kept watching the stars, not really thinking about anything anymore. Idly, she noticed they were getting closer. A moment later, she saw Blake's face above her. Ruby froze, fear stirring inside of her. Her face… there were tears running down her face.

"Blake?" she sat up. "What's going..."

Blake suddenly hugged her, making her fall silent. What could she say? It was strange. It might sound bad, but she didn't have that intention. She had always liked Blake, even though she was somewhat distant. She was merely surprised because, as silly as it sounded, she had never expected an emotional outburst from her. She was always calm and collected, so it caught her off guard. She didn't knew what to say and, honestly, even if she had been expecting it she didn't think she could muster a proper response in the death of the night. Her head was such a mess that she couldn't even think of why she had done that.

"I though..." Blake said, her voice broken. She swallowed, and continued more firmly. "I thought you..."

The realization of what she meant fell on her like a physical way. Of course. She had reacted strongly to Shirou's murder, and so leaving her bed in the death of the night, without even leaving a note or something, could rise red flags even to the most sensible person. It wasn't entirely warranted, but she could clearly see why she could think that.

"I wouldn't…" Ruby started, then hesitated. Would never do it, that was what she had been about to say. But that was a blatant lie. The events at the warehouse came to the forefront of her mind. "I won't try it ever again." she said instead, and hugged her back. "I… I know I'm not dealing well with any of it, but..."

But what? She hadn't really made that leap. She had stood up and fought back against the familiar instead of letting herself get killed because Yang and everybody would be hurt. She had decided she couldn't selfishly died because of all the things that she had dropped on the way, but she had never said to herself that she didn't deserve it.

"But I won't." she finished, rather lamely, unsure even of what to say. Blake hugged her even more tightly. They stayed like that, not saying anything nor moving even an inch. Some time later, they broke out and walked together back to the team's room.

* * *

Ruby eventually managed to sleep. It was a thin sleep, and it lasted two hours at the most, but what counted was that she went to sleep in the first place. She take what she could get. What followed was an ordinary day. Same classes, nothing all that interesting or engaging. And even if it had been, it would have been hard to concentrate on it when she had to struggle to keep her eyes open.

Though there was a highlight. Professor Port, for once, didn't tell some tall tale about how awesome he had been in his young. Instead, he told them about one his failures. About being cornered and overwhelmed because of his own pride, and getting narrowly saved by a comrade. It made her wonder if he didn't just make up his stories on the fly, if they were just a little embellished and that was that. It would make her listen more closely to his lesson from now on, just in case.

Didn't change that he was a bit of a drag, though.

At the end of that class, Glynda made an announcement over the PDA system, and all the students of the academy were gathered at the Auditorium. So they went there. She was mildly curious about it. She couldn't guess what announcement was important enough to interrupt the class. Something more important that class, probably, but what exactly? A little before it would begin, she realized the most likely reason. She wished it wasn't like that, but she couldn't think of anything else.

"As you know," the Headmaster said. "A few days ago, the White Fang managed to make several breaches in the city of Vale, using Dust. That accident cost many lives. The reparation efforts only took two days, but the cost of lives was many. Sixty eight people. That many died. I was there when it happened. And because I could not stop it, I don't think I'm worthy of being this academy's Headmaster."

Ruby tasted bile in her mouth. I don't think I'm worthy… ah, like hell. That was just something they had forced him to say. The public, shocked and shaken for the first time in so many years, demanded something as compensation. Demanded a scapegoat to kept their illusion of safety, because of course negligence was the cause of the tragedy. Nothing would have happened if he had done his job right. Yes, she could see it now. In the end, those kinds of idiots were the ones who yelled the loudest, and the council was the council merely because the people put them there. If they went against them in such a matter, power would be taken away. The selfishness in both sides was enough reason to fast track his dismissal.

"Because of that, I have presented my resignation." he continued, like nothing was wrong. Like this didn't change the plans he had. "I don't know who will be chosen to take my place, but I know it will be somebody worthy of it. Welcome him or her with open arms. Now that that's out of the way, I have a message for all of you. Most of you are children. You view this false tranquility as your life, but that's a mistake. You're only limiting yourselves. You here in Beacon. That means all of you have potential, but is only wasted if you don't use it. Stand up and fight for what you believe in. Complacency will only grant you an earlier death in the real world. Remember. There's no wall for any of you. The limit is not your own potential, but ignorance. What you can be is somewhere beyond that darkness. Go and reach for it. I know you can do it."

Silence reigned in the auditorium. After a few moments, they started applauding him. Ruby didn't join. She stared ahead at him without moving. He held her gaze, though to a casual observer he would merely been observing the crow before it. Those eyes… it seemed like a message to her, to all of them. And at encouragement. That he was looking at her now only confirmed it.

When the applause eventually died down, the Headmaster turned and walked away in silence. Glynda followed him. Only when he was out did the students start to move, too. Perhaps as a final show of respect for their Headmaster.

* * *

Arturia walked through the streets of Vale, feeling oddly nostalgic. Irisviel wasn't by her side anymore, nobody was, but it still seemed like that time. It was a different experience, much different, but it made her remembers all those times with stark clarity. It was a shame she wasn't here to see this. She would have loved it. Japan was beautiful, but this was beautiful, too, in another way.

She wondered if Irisviel had managed to survive the mess of the Fourth War. It didn't look good for her. She had been sickly at the end, almost like she could fall over and die at any moment, and she had been captured, but she liked to think she still had the chance to be happy and smiling. Irisviel had been her Master, regardless of who had the Command Spells, and she had fond of her.

But the odds were too long for her to been alive. If she hadn't been killed in the War, sooner or later Kiritsugu would throw her away too for the sake of his ideal. It was vexing, but it was what it was. That was what she couldn't understand about Irisviel. Fully loving him knowing what kind of man he was. She couldn't hate his nature, because it was also her nature. A king cannot protect the people with human emotions. A hero had to become a machine for the sake of that. All she could see from him was a mirror reflection… and that was precisely why she hated him, in spite of everything.

His beliefs and cool blooded actions made her look at herself from an outside perspective, and so she realized her knights were right about her. She couldn't understand human emotions. Her goal had been merely to kept her people happy, not the whole world, but she was as twisted as him. She wasn't just an unsuitable king, but a total disaster. The future she saw before picking up the sword wouldn't never been realized with her on the throne. That fact fell on her every time she as much thought of him, and made her hate him. And when she found herself pitying him, which was often, it only made her hate him all the more. In the end, good intentions didn't matter. What mattered where the people.

So Kiritsugu, being how he was, couldn't never really love Irisviel. He couldn't never put her ahead of his ideal. She knew that, too. At that time, she had though she clung to Kiritsugu because he had been the only one to show her kindness. Now, she had reasons to think he wasn't as bad as she though. But still, she couldn't understood how anybody could remain by his side, knowing how he was. Knowing that you would be discarded without a though, if push came to shove.

Then again, she didn't understand human emotions. That Irisviel loved Kiritsugu's good qualities and even his less savory qualities made her human, even though she was a homunculus. And her, the Once And Future King, was a human with the body of a human who might as well been a homunculus, for all it showed.

She brought a hand to her head. She was feeling the beginnings of a headache. It was trifling thing, but adding it to all the doubt and self hatred boiling inside of her, it was unbearably annoying. She looked around. As she did so, she saw one of those things, a television, showing an announcement. She stopped, and listened. It told of an accident in Vale. The White Fang had used Dust to open breaches in the city, and let the Grimm in. Sixty eight people had died. Many more had been injured. The damages to the city had been bad.

Then, a symbol flashed on a small screen withing the screen itself, behind the reporter. She recognized the symbol perfectly. The reporter continued speaking, but the words washed over her. She felt cold. The symbol of the White Fang, the causes of that tragedy. The same symbol she had seen in the soldiers that had been with Cinder.

Arturia whipped her head to the side. The people here were happy, smiling. At least, on the surface. Now that she looked at it, really looked, the sighs of the tragedy were clear in their body language. She turned back to the television, and continued listening, hoping that there would be something to show that there was some sort of justification, holding back the impulse to go back and cut her down. She couldn't hate Cinder because of doing something like that, when to her, sacrificing people was a routine.

What came next a debate about the story of the White Fang. Once a peaceful group to give voice to the Faunus, it turned into a group of people who could do anything for the sake of that goal. More violent protests turned into stealing, and from then on they became a true menace. Some said that they were nothing but a bunch of lunatics, and their recents actions had only proven that. Others said that while their actions were despicable, it wouldn't have come to this if the Faunus were treated with a modicum of respect. Arturia didn't know what was the truth. She just knew that Cinder and her were going to have a talk.

A long talk, or a short one.

Depending on how she answered.


	23. Patchwork Lives

**Chapter Twenty Three**

They went back to classes as if nothing had happened. Recess had naturally less time now, but it was otherwise like it didn't change anything. Ruby acted like that, too, but she couldn't not longer focus on the classes. Or anything, really. She kept thinking over what to do now, what could they do.

Keeping in contact with the Headmaster was easy. She had lost her scroll in that whole mess, and the replacement didn't have the Headmaster's number, but it didn't really matter. Getting his number was as easy as telling Weiss to get it and, besides, she was pretty sure she remember his contact information from when he called Cinder back. Not completely sure, but maybe.

The problem was what came later. She was no stupid. She understood that the Headmaster's contacts weren't not all wholesome, far for it, and removing him from his position didn't do much damage to his support structure. But they still hadn't no leads, nothing substantial to go on. And putting some clueless person as the replacement, no matter how good he or she might be, could potentially run this. Also, if they needed some excuse, the new Headmaster wouldn't back them up. They were merely small annoyances, but while fighting not only for Vale but for the sake of Remnant itself, it would be the deciding factor that would make their plans crumble.

It would take some time to replace it, even though the council would surely fast track his expulsion. At least this day would be safe. But after that, what? They had gotten away with all their escapades, so far. But in the last few ones Ozpin could and surely had used his influence to help them, and one day their luck was bound to run out. If they caught them once, security would increase even more and then it would be practically impossible for them to escape during the night. They could still help out during the day, of course, but still that limited their range of action. She bit her lip. Well, they could worry about it if things came to that. There was no point in worrying about things she couldn't not change.

The most recent records of the Schnee Dust Company were quite informative. They hadn't really analyzed them before, but now they could clearly see The White Fang's actions followed a clear pattern. That course ground to a halt five days before the attack at the dance. After that, there was nothing. It could be, of course, that after that they grew more subtle, and there was no proof to attribute crimes to them. But she was thinking that it was something else entirely. That sheath. They were doing whatever they wanted to do with it, and they needed time for it. She couldn't even begin to guess what could be used for, even though she was expanding her framework as far as magecraft was concerned, but it was clear that it would be nothing good for them. They had to stop them.

Unfortunately, good intentions didn't matter. There was still nothing substantial to go on, no matter how much they tried to analyze the records. So they planned several routes through Vale, taking into account the pattern that the White Fang had showed. They got out after finished the little homework the professors had give them, and went on their separate ways.

It was unlikely that they decided to commit a crime in broad daylight, but they were not patrolling for that. The White Fang weren't the only criminals, and it stood to reason that they would have alliances with other criminal groups occasionally. There could be something. It probably wouldn't bear them any results, but there was still a chance a criminal associated with the White Fang would reveal something under pressure. Also, there was always the chance of stumbling into one of their hideouts. Which had an even smaller chance, but still there.

It was very frustrating to think about, but it was what it was. Even so, they couldn't just sit around and wait for the Headmaster to contact them and give them some coordinates, a leap or something. They had to try, and since this was all they could do without leads, they had to bet on those small chances, as many times as it took until an opportunity presented itself or something better came up. They were just four first years students. At the end of the day, they weren't anything important. They hadn't not influence. So it was only natural that they had to resort to flying blind and hoping they could grasp something.

Ruby stumbled into several small crimes on her way. She doubted an instant for the first time, wondering if she could really afford to lose time. But it was only an instant, and it didn't repeat itself. She couldn't allow revenge to wrap her. Maybe it did really make a difference. She couldn't never know. Still, she couldn't be proud of herself if she ignored people who needed help. Not when she had the power to help.

She went around four times, using the four different routes that were meant for her, being as through as she could. Night fell, and nothing of note happened. She didn't get even a step closer to their goal. She had been pretty much expecting it, though, so she didn't felt frustrated. Just hoped the others had better luck that her.

She headed back to Beacon.

* * *

Blake was already in the room when she came, and Weiss and Yang weren't too far being. When they were all inside, they reported what they had done and seen. It turned up that the others had pretty much the same experience. It couldn't be said that the patrol had been for nothing, since they had all helped people, but that didn't change that the goal hadn't been fulfilled.

There was something else in the horizon. The White Fang organized recruitment meetings monthly, so there was that chance. They could make a big impact, if they played their cards right. But that was still far off, and it would been hard for Blake to get where the meeting place would be, seeing that she was very clearly their enemy. She couldn't not longer stride into their territory and get away with it because she was a Faunus.

When they finished reporting the results, or lack thereof, they immediately went into bed. Ruby was exhausted, both mentally and physically, so she felt asleep in a matter of minutes. She did dream, but it wasn't a nightmare. Shirou and her sat on a meadow, their backs against a tree. Everything was so beautiful it seemed out of this world, but Shirou was more beautiful that any of the scenery. His smile was wide, bright. It was great to see him just kicking back and relaxing, for a while. He smiled and laughed before, but he never seemed truly relaxed. Like he though he didn't deserve it. Like he though he was unworthy of all of it. But right now, he was at peace.

It was a small dream, nothing more. But it warmed her heart. At least, for those fleeting hours where she sleep. When she waked up, there was nothing but a bitter taste in her throat and the wish that they could have had such a moment, that she could have had chance to see those expressions for real.

As usual, they ate lunch with team Juniper. They were all good friends, but there was a sense of distance from them. And how could there not be? They barely knew Shirou. Seeing a classmate dying a miserable death in front of them while they could not do anything probably affected them, in some way, but it just wasn't the same thing.

"This morning, ten corpses were found in an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of Vale." Ruby froze. The words almost washed over her, but the meaning was clear. Ten people… gone. Just like that. "The police are still in the process of identifying them. They were so rotten that it was impossible to recognize them. The reason for this atrocity is unknown. There are no suspects. The police have yet to give their word on this matter."

Her brain went into overdrive. Ten people. There was always the chance that this was something entirely unrelated to her situation, than that had been the work of some random psycho, but if it was related, it did explain several things, now that she though about it.

Shirou didn't seem like a corpse at all, when they had faced off at the warehouse two days ago. It was obvious his corpse wouldn't been starting to root already, since it hadn't been a week since he was killed and, in any case, his body had turned into swords. That wouldn't root. But he didn't smell like a corpse either, though, and that was harder to explain. Also, he should have suffered some kind of internal degradation. From the neck up, anyway. Or so she thought. She wasn't exactly an expert in that field, far from it.

In any case, she hadn't even noticed it before, but the news report made her think that it could be something important. That the life energy of those ten people had been sacrificed to straighten his corpse in all kinds of ways. Even though The Dead retained the basic properties of the Dead Apostles, that of their limbs being connect not by nerves but their black blood, but the Familiar had simply been too strong. If she had made even one singly misstep, it would have blow her head off. So it made sense that something like that was used to strengthen it. Though, if that was the case, it painted those events in a new light. Either they had poured so much effort because they had a use for it… or they had killed ten people for the sake of a distraction or the whims of a Dead Apostle.

She closed her eyes, feeling bile welling up in her throat. Damn. It wasn't enough that they had took him away from her, away from everybody. It wasn't enough that they had twisted his body and had forced her to hurt him. It wasn't enough to them. No, not at all. Now she had more that enough reason to think that they had sacrificed those people to it. It could be said it was the last straw, but that had happened long ago. She felt like she was starting to go mad. No, maybe she had gone mad already. They had used his corpse to kill so many people, and for what? For what?!

There was the loud, sudden sound of something breaking.

"Ruby!" They called out her name, startled, as she opened her eyes wide. She looked down at her clenched right hand. The plate she in where she had been eating was broken in lots of pieces. The fried potatoes were sprawled on the large desk. Some had fell on the ground. Apparently, she had subconsciously tightened her hold on the plate. She felt strangely detached from it all. She unclenched her right hand, and stared absentmindedly at it. At the lines.

"I'm fine." she said in a cold, lifeless voice.

"You're not!" Yang screamed, then a slam. The chair moved. She surely had stood up. "Just look at yourself!"

"Well," she gave a little chuckle. "Don't have much reason to be, in any case. So whatever." she stood up, and started walking away.

"Ruby, you… you can just walk away like that!" Yang said. "Please, I know… I know I said that before, but just… just come back."

She didn't.

* * *

Ruby entered the room, went directly to the bathroom, bended over in front of the toilet, which was still open, her hands on her stomach, and puked. It burned, and the aftertaste it left wasn't any better. It lasted a few seconds. Then, when she tried to straightened herself, her vision swayed. She had to grab the sink to not fall, and she puked again. Tears stung in the corner of her eyes and, after a few seconds, started to fall. It lasted longer this time, maybe, but she couldn't tell how much.

She straightened herself. There, on the toilet, the bile was mixed with a little bit of blood. The undigested potatoes were floating there, as if it was some twisted soup. She looked away. The sight only made her stomach crunch even more. She felt dizziness wash over her, but it ended in an instant. She felt sick to her stomach, but that would pass away, too. In time. She stayed for a few minutes like that, feeling absolutely miserable, but she didn't puke again. That… that was good. Maybe. She couldn't think straight.

She went out of the bathroom, got into bed, covered herself and just stared at the wall of the right. She knew she couldn't fall sleep, not in this situation. It was vexing. Shirou was murdered. She had to suffer that lost, the pain of seeing it in front of her very eyes. Then she was forced to kill him herself, even though it wasn't him. And now… now this? It all seemed like a sick joke. She wished it was a sick joke, that the murder of those people was entirely unrelated to this whole mess, but even the possibility that it was real hurt her so much.

She felt tears sting in the corner of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She knew that carefully locking away the things that were painful was a self-destructive course, but she wasn't going to do that. It was just that she was tired of crying. The tears didn't fall. She whipped her eyes with the back of her hands, and took a deep breath.

Something was something. Small steps. Compartmentalize the problems and advance. She found herself remembering the words of her physiologic. He hadn't never helped her. Seeing him was merely a bitter reminder of what she had lost, how people looked at her now, but those words rang true. If she didn't compartmentalize her problems, she would get crushed and disappear forever.

Somehow, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Her body was shaking. No, being shaken. She could felt aslender hand on her shoulder, even through the haze her mind was wrapped in. But she didn't want to open her eyes. This was fine, too. Drifting off, just like that. Neither dreaming nor awake. It could be said it was liberation. Finding peace was easier that expected. It… it wouldn't be so bad, to just spend her whole life in this state.

"Ruby!" Yang's voice catapulted her into consciousness. She blinked her eyes open, feeling them heavy like lead. Or something like that. She opened her mouth to say 'good morning', but all that left her mouth was a loud yawn.

"What is it?" she said after, then winced. After just walking off in a hurry hours ago, that sounded intensive. Hell, it was intensive. Come to think of it, just how long ago had that been? She looked around. Blake and Weiss were sitting on their beds, looking directly at her. And the window clearly told her that it was night already. Oh. She really couldn't muster enough energy for another response.

"We need to talk." Yang said, like it was nothing. Ruby felt her whole body tense. "I have been trying to accept your choice, but this… it can't go on long like this anymore. You can't kept doing this to yourself. This is a self-destructive path that will give you nothing."

"And what would you have me do?" Ruby retorted, her voice tired and weary. "To forget? I can't forget. And I can't pretend everything is fine, either. Believe, I tried. But I just… I just can't."

"I'm not saying, okay? Listen, Ruby. I never forgot my mother, ever. I'm still searching for her. But I wouldn't never push myself until I break. There are things more important to me than that."

"Yeah?" Ruby curled into a ball. "Do you think I need to hear that? I understand that. But Yang, it has only been a few days. Just let me dealt with it. I'm not made of steel, but I'm not going to kill myself. Not anymore."

"I know. I know, but..." she sighed. "Look, just listen. A few minutes. That's all we ask, okay?"

"Okay." Ruby repeated.

"Good." Yang whipped her head back. "So… who will go first?"

Weiss and Blake shared a brief glace between each other. Then, with a placid expression, Blake lifted one hand.

"I guess I go first." she said, her tone even. "I was born after the War between our species. My parents were members of the White Fang. Back then, it was a peaceful organization, meant to make our voice heard. We believed not in extermination, nor in taking control of the government or anything like that. We honestly thought coexistence could be possible. But… have you ever been looked at like your life is worthless?" then, without waiting for an answer: "I never liked that, of course, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was people that looked at us like we didn't even exist to begin with, like we're like a lamp or painting. The people who didn't acknowledge us. There were many people like that, and many people who hated us for that and because they lost somebody in the struggle. Forgetting that humans were the ones who had started it."

Ruby buried her head between her legs. She understood what she was talking about, of course. People found reasons to hate each other based on gender, race and beliefs, so it was not at surprise the Faunus were treated like that, since they weren't separate existences from human beings. It left her with a bitter taste in her throat, but it was the truth. But what could she gain for hearing this? She understood what they were trying to say. That tragedy happened, that it didn't have to mark the end of your live. That one should stand up and face the future. She had done so before, and she would do so again. There was no meaning or reason to this whole thing. That they were going out of their way to help her warmed her heart, but that didn't change what it was.

"Still, I didn't hate humanity. I thought that it would be only a matter of time before they accepted us. I thought that those who hate us, those who didn't even acknowledge us, were only a part of humanity. That surely there would be people who didn't care about what we look like, nor that we aren't like then." Blake continued. "I went with my parents to protest, and the rest of our members, convinced that we could make a different." she let out a bitter little laugh. "I still remember when my faith in humanity was completely shattered."

She started to fidget, despite herself. Listening to Shirou's story had been horrible. It was just so horrible. All those people who died in pain. That the people that tried to save others only died in vain. Also, she felt like they had grow closer together. Yet the simple fact of listening to it had created distance between them, in certain occasions. She didn't want to listen to a story like that again. She opened her mouth. After an instant of weighting her words, she closed it again. She knew it was going to hurt. But she also understood that she had to know.

"One day, I wake up hearing my father screaming. Not in pain, but in rage. Still half-sleep, I wandered outside, barefooted and in my pajamas. I got out of the house. What I saw first was our car. What was left of it. It had been trashed completely. The Capote was open, and the wires had been cut and the machinery had been cut. The top of the car had caved in. All the glass had been broken. Inside, they… well, maybe it had been only one person. But anyway. A single piece of paper had been left inside.

I was completely mesmerized, and terrified. I didn't understand it, back then. I only understood that my heart was beating so hard it hurt. But I came to understand it, in time. What if that car had been my mother, my father, my friends or me? The horror that everything I have ever know could been taken away out of a whim and none of them would care was burned into my brain. I thought I might snap, back then. Maybe I did snap. I don't know. I don't care."

That… When Ruby stared into her mother's eyes as she chocked on her own blood, she understood the world ran on the rules of nature. She understood that her life had no weight, and that to survive she had to carve her place in the world. So she trained. She trained so hard she sometimes felt like she could die, and in some points she almost she could die. She grew strong. She grew into a Huntress. So that she wouldn't felt that again.

"It soon became clear to everybody that humanity would never accept us." Blake continued. "That were were something different from then, and that the bitterness from the struggle still lingered. They had started it. And we had lost many people, too. But we were willing to lay down the axe first. We thought that there had to been something beyond all the hate, anger and regret. And maybe there was. But it festered, so it never ended. Our people wouldn't never have a place in Remnant… that was the bitter truth everybody understood, yet refused to understand.

Still, we kept going at him. Because we didn't want to make the hate grow even more, to truly go beyond the point of not return. It was only natural. Humanity has a history with that kind of thing. Woman, homosexuals, black people… all of them were treated badly for a long, long time, but now nobody cares about sexual orientation, gender or the color of your skin. We thought if we continued, if we gritted our teeth and just kept on living like we did, someday we could have a place in the world, too.

Then our old leader retired, and a new one was put in his place. And with it came a new order for the White Fang… We were truly peaceful from the beginning. When the group was formed, nobody had the intention of acting like they are acting now. But reality changed it all. The noble ideal became a tiring duty, and even dedication was broken. They wouldn't have no place in the world, so the only choice they had was carving a place for themselves. They had to create a world in which they could just… be allowed to live by themselves. It was just a small wish, but many futures have been squashed for the sake of that."

"Blake..." Ruby started to say, then stopped. What could she say? 'Its not your fault'. But she already knew that. Her words were useless, since she couldn't possibly understand her situation.

"I was alone by then. Father had wasted away due to some sickness, and mother killed herself not too long after." Ruby froze. Those words. She couldn't believe how easy had those words rolled out of her tongue, like it was nothing. She understood that it wasn't like it seemed, that even though her body language didn't betray her feelings, the pain inside wasn't something that could be stopped. But it still shocked her. "So I thought it was fine, that they had a point. That if peaceful protests had done nothing for us, we had to do something _more_. Something that would make humanity listen to us, that would force them to acknowledge we exist. It was my last hope. Me and Adam… my partner. We were send to a train car to rob it, but he didn't care at all about the crew members. He just set the charges and continued like it was nothing. So I cut my ties with it. I cut my ties with everybody. And I ran. Without nobody or anything, all my hopes for the future so far away that the were unreachable. Or maybe it just realized it was unreachable for the start. I don't know. But you guys proved me wrong. Our journey might not have a finishing line, but I was able to be myself. I was able to happy. So… thank you."

Its only natural to be filled with scars. There's no such a thing as a human without scars. Everything fades away, sooner or later. And things lost wouldn't never returned. Living is dropping things on the way and losing even more. But really, what a mess they were. It seemed like the world was against them. They already were a patchwork of scars, and they hadn't lived for even half a century.

"I go ahead, then." Weiss said, as if to psych herself up. She took a deep breath. "To be honest, I told this to Shirou before the dance. He asked me about the faded scar on my eye, so I did it. I told him not tell you, Ruby, because you were so worried about Blake back then and I didn't want to worry you even more. But I guess its about time that I had the guts to say it. To be honest… I'm jealous of all of you."

"...What?" Ruby let out without thinking.

"Its true. Don't get me wrong. You lost so much, but you had people that loved you, that cherished you. Your parents were great people. But mine… I hate my father. I wish he could just go ahead and die. He's a stain on our family name. What he's doing with the Schnee corporation… well, you have sure hear the rumors."

They nodded, except for Ruby. She couldn't spare enough attention for that. She just stared at Weiss, surprised and ashamed of herself. She should have noticed her pain. And all the times when she called her a princess or some such, as if she was a spoiled child… it was all in good fun, but in light of that it seemed more serious that before. Much more.

"Well, I don't doubt that most of them are true." Weiss said, hate and anger clear in her tone. Her body was shaking a little bit. "He's just like ice. He doesn't care about anyone or anything more that himself. Mother spend so much with this family that I'm sure she even forgot what war was. That's all I wanted, really. To have some warm memories with people that cared about me. Losing those people… it would hurt, but at least it would have something. With them, though, I didn't have anything. They only loved the person they thought I was and the person they wanted me to be. Nobody loved me for being me. They wanted me to be pretty, graceful, a figure that would represent all that the Schnee corporation stands for on the outside, and the kind of person who would show the ugliness necessary when the time called for it. A symbol, a warrior. I was trained and trained and trained. I couldn't never been myself. But to be honest, I wasn't allowed to grow beyond their boundaries to begin with. So I didn't even know how to been myself. I guess my life was hold on hold for all those years."

Ruby really couldn't think straight. She had expected for her to say something bad, but she hadn't expected something like this. She had always looked so proud of herself that it hadn't even crossed her mind that Weiss would hate that. And her family situation… she hadn't wondered about it, but she couldn't have expected it, either.

"I surpassed my instructors. One day, when I was twelve, he made one of them take me outside for training against Grimm. And I lost, big time. No matter how skilled I was, I didn't have any experience." she closed her left eye, put a finger above it and slowly moved it down. "An Ursa gave me that scar. I thought I would die, but the instructor intervened to save me. I waked up back in the infirmary of my 'home'. The instructor was arguing with father. I never saw him again. Nobody did. And that's why I decided to become a Huntress for my own sake. I couldn't stand living there anymore, and I hoped that, maybe, this way I would take back what was mine. My life. That it wouldn't have to be tied down by what people want me to be."

Silence settled on the room. Nobody really what to say, what they should say or even if they should say anything to begin with. Ruby opened her mouth to say something… and laughed. She couldn't help it. Their eyes all turned to her, but they didn't say anything. They didn't move, either. Ruby laughed until it almost hurts, and tears started streaming down her man.

"Man." she said, with some warmness. "We really are a screw bunch, right? Misery loves company, indeed."

Ruby uncurled, and stood up. Their eyes followed her.

"I guess its my turn now."

"You don't have to say it." Yang interrupted her.

"I know, but I want to say it anyway." she said. What was the lightness in her chest? It wasn't peace, that she was sure of, but it was there. "I happened when I was eight years old. An attack on Vale. Mother, of course, went to stop it allow with her comrades and the rest of the forces. And I went out, intending to see my hero in action. What I saw was her falling from the sky. I ran to them. And I had to look at her eyes as she choked on her own blood. It clearly showed that she recognized me. I wondered many times. Did she end up dying with nothing but regrets because of me? I'm sure of it. Its my fault. If she hadn't come, at least she could have allowed herself to think 'ah, at least my family is safe'."

That's right. She had ruined it all. What should have been a noble sacrifice had become a scene of tragedy because she was there. If she hadn't come, her mother would have died in peace. If she hadn't come, she might have been able to live in peace. But she had done. There were things that wouldn't never be repaired again. Mended, maybe, but they couldn't never return to their original shape.

"So I hate myself." Ruby confessed. The lightness in her chest increased as she said those four words. "I really can't stand myself. What hurt me the most about mother's death wasn't that it happened, but what happened to be as a result. That I missed her. That I felt so alone. I was saddled with a physiologist. To be honest, I have never really thought about that period of my life until now. And now I understand. I hated him. I looked at all the new people that came into my sight with contempt, and all the adults that tried to make things easier by saying things like my mother wasn't ever going to come back, as if I believed it was."

"Ruby..." Yang started.

"Just let me speak." she cut her off. "Anyway. I was so self adsorbed… I still am, to an extend. I'm trying to change, but when push comes to shove I protect myself, not somebody else. I'm not like Shirou at all. Of course, he would throw away his live without a second thought, and that its a problem as of itself… but you know what I meant. I trained so I would honor her memory, and become somebody she could be proud of. Or so I told myself. Maybe I just didn't want to been hurt anymore. I just know I haven't changed at all. With Shirou it was just the same. I refused to accept it, lashed out, tried to bear everything by myself and just… didn't think straight where I really should have."

Ruby let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding.

"You know..." her smile widened. "It felts good to say it."

The three of them embraced her. She hugged them back. As the warmness enveloped her, letting the weight in her shoulders fall and her body rest even if it was for only a few moments, a single thought went through her mind:

 _I'm back._


	24. Assault

**Chapter Twenty Four  
**  
Ruby felt torn. It was good that they had reached an understanding, that they had finally sat down and talked between themselves. She now knew things about Weiss and Blake that she hadn't never thought about, and she had confessed. She had even brought to light the emotions from deep within her that she hadn't even told Shirou about. It felt like they were closer that ever before. It felt like, finally, they could be friends again.

But she felt awkward. She felt like she should cheer for confessing what she had, but that she had done so couldn't leave her mind. I hate myself. Just three simple words, but there was lot of weight behind them. She always knew she did. That was why she had trained so much, why she had tried to change herself. To be strong when such a thing would happen again. So she wouldn't been hurt. She knew, even though she didn't really think about it. But saying it… it filled her with complicated feelings.

It made her nervous. It made her look at her friends and even her own sister unsubtly, wondering what they were thinking. If they were looking down at her. If they had finally realized that she was only a weak little girl pretending to be strong, and all she had achieved had been achieved only because she wanted to run for her own mistakes. It made her wonder if they were going to be extra nice to her, because she was broken. Like her family's friends. Like her father. Like the physiologist. She didn't think she could stand something like that again.

It was… silly. When she had told them, they hadn't looked at her like she was a broken doll. They accepted her and embraced her. Yet the doubt remained there. Like, she was confusing sympathy with pithy. Like maybe their embrace hadn't been for support, but because they thought she might break. They were acting normally. They smiled together, laughed together. If anything, they had become honest with each other. There were not awkward pauses, lost time wondering what to say, what could be okay to say. And yet the doubts just couldn't leave her mind.

Maybe it was just that she was like this, that something fundamental had broken inside of her when her mother died and she couldn't never be whole again. She would spend her whole life wondering and fearing and tied down through her whole life. What a depressing thought, but it ran true.

She had spend so much time protecting herself from everything that she no longer knew what to think when the walls had come down.

The Vytal Festival was approaching. It was only a matter of days before it would begin. She had been excited once, but now she didn't really care. Because she saw it for what it was. A way to pretend that things weren't as they are, even if it was for only a brief moment, and nothing more. But reality wouldn't change no matter how much they deluded themselves. The Grimm were out of there, and their lives would always hang in the balance. And the situation between the kingdoms wasn't all that stable. Partying together for a little time wouldn't change anything. It was a tradition continued because it was a tradition, and that got to been its own meaning of existence in the end. It was so hollow…

That day, somebody approached her when she was going with the group to launch. It took her a few seconds to recognize her. The first Faunus that Shirou had helped, the same day he fought with Cardin in the sparring class. That much she knew, but she couldn't recall her name. It was a bit embarrassing, but she hadn't seen her again, even at a distance. So it was only natural.

What did she want with her? She had stepped alongside Shirou, yes, but everybody had done that, too. Except for Weiss. But well, the point was that she couldn't see any reason for the girl to approach her specifically. Velvet bowed at the waist without warning. That made her take a step back.

"What are you doing?" Ruby yelled. This situation was too strange; she didn't know how to react at all.

"I… I'm sorry." Velvet said, with her head still bowed. "I… it might sound silly, but I felt guilty. My teammates stick up for me, of course, but Shirou was the first person that bothered to do anything about it outside of them. And I didn't go see him again. I didn't even talk to him. I thought about it, really, but as the days passed I thought about it less and less… because it would have been pretty embarrassing to just show myself without warning after such a long time. I… I wanted to understand, why should a person would go ahead and help me without even expecting any thanks. But not I'll never will the chance, so I at least wanted to apologize. I wish we could have been friends. What I'm trying to say here… I'm sorry for you loss. Bring my regards to his family, too."

"I can give you a number, if you want." Ruby answered, after a moment of consideration. It seemed like the best response. "You can say it yourself to his guardian."

"I… don't think it would been for the best. What meaning would it have? I never knew him at all; we weren't even acquaintances."

"Well, if you think so..." she was proud of herself, but that she had to be proud of reacting calmly to another reminder of his death was a bit depressing. "Then it might be for the best. I don't know. I'm not the best judge of this kind of stuff. For what its worth, though, I don't think you need to regret not approaching him."

That… that wasn't completely truthful. To be honest, she hated that. Shirou had helped many people in the academy without expecting anything, and eventually people just took his help for granted and nobody thanked him. It was not that he had accepted that his role for the rest of the school was merely convenient existence. It was just that he didn't see nothing wrong with it, and that, more that anything else, was vexing. It utterly pissed her off…

No, she had to stop mincing words. The truth was… she hated them. Every last person who didn't even deign to be grateful of the help he gave them. No matter how he thought about himself, he was human, too. He had a human heart even thought his beliefs were rigid as steel, until his end. Just a smile, a pat on the back. A simple thanks. Giving him even such a small thing back to him would have been enough for her. But there were few who actually bothered to do it.

"It was just… how he was." she swallowed. It was hard to get those words out. "He didn't want anything as compensation, so you don't have to beat yourself up over that. The knowledge that he had helped somebody was the only compensation he needed."

"Yes, he… uh, he seemed like that kind of person. But still… I don't think it was right to do so. I can't help but felt guilty."

"If that's what you think." she sighed. "Look. Maybe you're right, but you seem like good people." she extended her left hand towards her. "So why don't we become friends?"

Ruby's offer was sincere. She had made a mistake, but she working to change it. The bitterness that she had done so in the first place was there, but it would fade away. It faded more and more rapidly the more she looked at Velvet. The bunny Faunus raised her head, and looked at her extended hand. She tentatively extended her hand towards her, and grasped it. They shook hands as if they were old friends.

They parted ways as if they were old friends, too.

* * *

None of them signed up to participate in the tournament, of course. It didn't have anything to do with what had happened. Well, that wasn't necessarily, since it was tangentially related. But anyway. They just couldn't lose time on anything, when they still had a purpose that they weren't any closer to since they created it. The finishing line seemed so far away that sometimes, only sometimes, she wondered if it was there to begin with.

They did go to it, though. She had to admit that, though lately mustering enthusiasm for anything had been increasingly difficult, she couldn't help but been excited for the tournament. Though she had seen many horrible things, the trill of fighting or even seeing a fight in controlled conditions hadn't never left her. It was like meeting new people, but better. Crow had said that your fighting style reflected your personality like a clear mirror, and she believed that with all her heart. Also, seeing Pyyrha fight was always a pleasure. Ruby thought she had a high chance of taking her down if she ever got the chance, but that didn't change that.

It turned up that Pyyrha wasn't going to fight on that day, but it still the fights were interesting, so far. It was really nice seeing all those styles clashing against each other, and having the opportunity to compare herself with them. There were a few who seemed more focused on showing off for the crowd rather that actually fighting. Fortunately, as she said, it was only a few. Out of the four fight so far, she had to say that she would come favorably if compared to any of those contestants. Or so she thought, anyway. She wasn't particularly humble when it came to her fighting skill.

It was… nice, really. It wasn't what she had expected it to be, at least not for now, but it was nice. It allowed her to just sit down, and watch something interested while eating popcorn. Since there was barely any pause between matches, it didn't give her room to dwell on her thoughts. Which was welcome.

When the last match of the day finished, it happened. The lights went out completely. Ruby froze for a second, one hand filled with popcorn halfway to her mouth. What had happened? A simple maintenance error? Maybe. Still, she was nervous. All she could heard was the beating of her heart pounding in her hearts. Because, there was a chance it wasn't. And she didn't have Crescent Rose with her.

She recalled that time where she had been captured. The confusion, the scramble to survive. The terror that completely overwhelmed her, taking away her reason. Neo's heavy breathing in the darkness. Her extraordinary strength, and her blood curling sadism. She had been helpless, unable to relay on anything but her own body. She felt bile raising in her throat as the memories resurfaced.

There's wasn't any reason to think it would have been anything else. Her mind understood to it perfectly, even though her heart was running wild in her chest. What else could it be, for one? Nobody could be stupid enough to attack the Vytal Festival. Atlas had send a lot of Atlesian Paladins, pilots from them and mechanized soldiers to guard the safety of the people of the four kingdoms. Attacking, here and now, meant death for whatever tried. Not even the White Fang, probably the biggest criminal group in all of Remnant, could pull something like that. They would definitively be annihilated without a chance of truly fighting back. So, there wouldn't be anybody stupid enough to try it.

It made sense. It was easy to forget because the ruckus the people made all around her put her on edge, but it made sense. She stop a deep breath…

There was a slam. The door, the door opening. Running footsteps, rushing into the room. Ruby stood up. There were at least half a dozen people, and they were clearly armored and surely armed. She stood up, feeling her heart leaping up to her throat. Wait, no. Blake. Blake could seen in the dark, so she didn't have to be so impulsive.

"Blake!"Ruby shouted, to make herself heard above the ruckus.

There wasn't a answer. A grunt. Something hit the ground, rolled. She went down, and covered her head with her hands an instant before it exploded. But the explosion wasn't very big, and for the smell she realized it had been a smoke grenade. She stood up, confused, her heart beating even faster. How did they get here? What was the situation? The not knowing was more terrifying that anything else.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she almost jumped. But she understood they couldn't have gone so far in so title time. More and more armored people rushed into the room.

"Ruby." Blake whispered to her, in her ear. "And everybody. Listen. Before they can get far enough we get up using the fire escape. Its close to here. Jump down, turn to the right and then go forward for three meters. After that… we see what the fuck is going on, and we dealt with it."

Ruby liked that. It sounded like a plan, even though it wasn't much of one. They had got this far, so they must have something going for them. She didn't quite like the idea of leaving the people here to feed for themselves. She didn't have her weapons, neither did Blake and the rest, and probably most of the people didn't, either. Glynda was here and armed and she could probably dealt with them by herself, but that didn't change the uneasiness.

Still, that didn't change that they would more good with… whatever had happened, and fighting in such unfavorable conditions wouldn't do them any good. It didn't sit right with her, but it was undeniable. So she grabbed the railing, and hauled herself over it without hesitation. The three followed behind her, and they headed for the fire escape, waving between the crowd of people. It wasn't difficult at all.

They out of the window, into the fire scape, and what they saw… it was real nightmare. She could hardly believe her eyes. White Fang soldiers were swarming the academy, mowing down the attendants of their. The machines from Atlas were fired against the people, too. Not against the White Fang. It wasn't a betrayal, though. She could clearly see, even from here, that the Paladins were unmanned or the pilot inside was knocked up. Still, it didn't change that the situation was bad.

Blood curling screams filled the air. People scrambled to get away, begged for their lives and were cut down ruthlessly. The festival that was supposed to symbolize the unite between the kingdoms had already crumbled, and now it was every man for himself. In the rush, people slowed down each other and caused other people to fall to the ground. That caused a lot of deaths. But, even if they had handled it better, they wouldn't have a chance of getting out alive. The main security were the Atlas forces. With them controlled, it was up to the teaching staff and the students to defend people.

It was up to them.

Ruby took off her scroll, and put the code of her locker. The special code the locker to her in whatever localization on campus. The others did it too, of course. It would blow their cover, but it wasn't like they could do anything without their weapons, so they didn't have any choices. The four lockers came flying through the air, and came to a crashing halt in the rooftop in front of them.

Using the rail as support, they jumped into the rooftop, and grabbed their weapons. The familiar weight of Crescent Rose comforted her, to an extend. But not that much.

They headed into the fray.


	25. The Ruins

**Chapter Twenty Five**

 _The Ruins  
_  
They were a team and as such, they worked best together, so they didn't split off. They headed into the fray together, and staying together. Carving the way through the machines, through the White Fang soldiers. The machines were too many. The Atlesian Paladins, too. The academy was teetering on the verge of collapse. No, more like. There was hardly anything they could do to stop this catastrophe. All their strength couldn't do more that delay it.

It hurt. The deafening explosions, the breaking ground, the rocks flying about. The fire, the screams. The crushed tents, dreams. The Vytal Festival was only a formality, but still, it didn't even need to be said that a tragedy that couldn't be taken back was happening right here. They had chosen this time, this place, and prepared themselves like that to drive a knife through humanity's heart. To carve out their numbers. To spread distrust. To control.

Her teeth gritted. Damn it, this just wasn't… It wasn't supposed to be this way. She had promised Shirou she would take on his dream, but she wasn't capable of saving even a single person. No, it wasn't exactly like that. Out of the many people dying around her, she was only saved herself. Damn.

This was no good. This was no good at all. If this continued like this, they were finished. The guards had come to help, and the teaching staff, too. Also, thankfully, since it was the Vytal Festival, all the students of the academy were right here, but they were students from a reason. And the White Fang and the Atlas' forces, which had been taken over, overwhelmed them in both numbers and power. What an absolute hell. She couldn't even imagine a way out of this nightmare.

Aura was the best defense, but no matter how strong it might be, it still at a limit. That it would break. That it would take time to reform. So they couldn't stand against their merciless onslaught. Moreover, that wasn't the last of it. That gun. That strange gun that would cleave through any aura in an instant, the same strange gun that had been used to end Shirou's life. They had it. They had mass produced it. Not every soldier had it. Just a dozen, as far as she could see her. But that was already to many of them.

Two mistakes. That was all it would take for one of them to die. Sometimes, not even that. One single mistake would sometimes would be enough, since their Aura's would be breaking down because of the onslaught of the Atlas machines and the White Fang forces. And more often that not, there didn't even need to be a mistake to end it all. A stray shot would also be good enough. In other words… there was nothing. This was more like a slaughter, rather that a battle.

Ruby bit her lip so hard she drew blood. Her Aura. It was already under halfway. So close. Death was so close. With the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears, she continued the desperate battle. Desperate, but not hopeless. There was a chance for them. They could still overcome these long odds. But more than that, they would be left alone. The forces of Vale would come here. The only question was, could they last until then? Would enough of them would be alive at that time for the arrival of the Vale forces to make a difference? To many if's, far too many.

An explosion, and she was blow away. Only natural. As she hadn't even see it coming, she hadn't been able to move, let alone dodge it. So she was send flying into the air like trash. And, like trash, she hit the ground hard. A crack. An audible crack that felt like she had been stabbed right in her heart. She didn't know how much was left. She didn't know, but she knew her Aura was dangerously low.

Tears of anger stung at the corner of her eyes as she forced herself to her knees and surveyed the battlefield. How ridiculous. So very ridiculous. Until so little before, things had been going so well. People had been smiling and laughed together. People came together, mingled, bonded with people they hadn't even know. It was like the happiness from before had been only a dream, and this was simple the cold, harsh reality. She stared laughing.

How course.

They were soldiers, so this was their reality. Their mission was supposed to be killing Grimm, not people, but in the end, when it came down to it, when you really though about it… there really wasn't much of a difference between the Grimm and the White Fang, between the Grimm and those criminals who would wipe off lives carelessly, like they didn't matter. They were just different flavors of the same nature: monsters. She laughed even harder, gripping her scythe so thigh that it started to hurt.

At instant later…

Her breath stopped.

There. In the middle of the battlefield, something was streaking through all of it without a care. Raging winds were left in her wake, scattering the surrounding people and even the machines. Ruby stopped. She even stopped breathing, and concentrated on the approaching whirlwind. That valiant blue knight, clenching something invisible in her hand… that was, without a doubt a Servant. It didn't make sense, the Grail had been shut down and there shouldn't be a War at this time anyway, but it didn't change the fact than that woman was there and she was definitively a Servant.

She didn't felt hopeless.

She didn't felt despair.

She didn't felt like throwing her scythe down, and just surrendering to the inevitable.

She only felt a great hate from the bottom of her heart. Because, she understood. What this woman was, why this woman was here. The sheath that was ripped away from Shirou. The very reason they were after him, and everything ended on that day. It was all to summon this woman. This… this _thing._

"I going to kill you." she said that lightly, as if singing, even though she fully knew what kind of being she was intending to face.

She ran after that figure. She ran, alone. It was many times faster that her. Even if she faced that thing, she would be cut down in an instant. And her Aura wouldn't do much good. No, it might not do much good even if it had been at full power. Because, that invisible thing. Her Noble Phantasm. Her Aura couldn't possible stand against such a thing. Still, she didn't care. Had something snapped in her mind at that sight? Maybe.

She had to use her Semblance and also occasionally push herself to the speed that left a whirlwind in her wake to kept up, and still, the thing was clearly faster that her. Up, up. Into the headmaster's office. Ruby followed after her, not even allowing herself to wonder why such a weapon was heading to such a place instead of dominating the battlefield. Why? Because such things didn't matter, of course. Her mind was only pure, condensed hatred now.

Ruby followed her. Down the steps beyond a hole in the wall that wasn't there before, to a basement she didn' even know existed. The blue knight was already in the middle of the room when she came down the steps. The room's illumination wasn't good, but that was fine, too. It was only another obstacle she had to overcome for the sake of ending her.

"Go back." the knight said. Ah. So it had know the whole time, it had just hadn't said it. "You don't stand a chance against me. To attack me means facing a meaningless death."

A meaningless death. Of course, that was the whole problem to begin with. The body made of swords. His weak, trembling hand reaching out for her as the door's of the Bullhead closed. Because of its existence, things had ended up like that. Because Shirou somehow had that catalyst inside of himself, things had ended up like that. So, she couldn't forgive this thing in front of her. She couldn't back down, even if it might be hopeless.

"I don't care."

"...I see." the knight turned. She was so short, but even her face looked like she was only a few years older that her. It was unbelievable that she would have that kind of power, at that age. Off the top of her head, she didn't remember any hero that would classify for the class of Saber that was so young like that. Then again, that was just her appearance.

Sh… it got into stance, holding the invisible sword with both hands. Without a doubt, the invisible thing was a sword.

Like from another world, Ruby heard footstep from behind her. From the corner of her eye, she saw the three getting into formation. They didn't say anything. She didn't, either. There was no need for words. They didn't even know what she knew about the thing in front of her, but they could clearly felt they could only spare attention to kill it for certain.

Ten meters. It will only take a few seconds for her to close that distance. So, if she wasn't careful, the outcome of the battle would be decided in the next two seconds. The cracking of the ground beneath the knights feet. That served as the signal.

It charged. A single, flawless motion for the sake of killing the enemies in front of it. Behind it, overpowering amounts of magical energy and raging winds.

Weiss ran towards her. Channeling the necessary Dust through Myrtenaster, she encased the speeding Servant in a large dome of ice. To do such a thing, she had to use all of the Ice Dust in the container in one shoot to extend the rage of effect, so as to account for the Servant's demonic speed. But not even that was enough. The prison of ice made for a whole container of Dust barely lasted more that a second, and even that was a surprise.

It exploded, scattering broken shards of ice across the massive basement. The knight was unharmed, and it didn't allow that to slow it down for even one more instant. Weiss put herself between it and the rest, but it just smashed her invisible swords against Weiss's rapier. The burst of magical energy send her flying away.

Ruby stared.

Blake and Yang, whose body was already aflame, rushed towards the Servant. Blake used her Semblance in combination with Dust to create several clones of herself, each one infused with different properties. They all attacked the Servant at the same time. The Fire clone exploded right in it's face, but it didn't even manage to move it. The Ice Clone bound the invisible sword with ice upon exploding, revealing its shape and length. The Ice Clone exploded too, delivering a powerful blast of wind that forced it to dig its feet into the earth to not be blow away, and even then, it managed to send it a few steps back.

While it was preoccupied with that, Yang punched her square in the face with both of her gauntlets. The ice binding the sword shattered, and it counter attacked. Her sister Aura shattered, and the invisible sword stabbed her through the stomach. It came out of her back, stained with blood. Blake came to attack it, screaming in rage. But it was useless. It was _useless_.

It avoided the attack with contemptuous ease, and put Blake down. The impact was so strong that she was knocked unconscious. Then, its eyes shifted to her. It charged. Ruby pushed her speed to the limit, and meet the spirit head-on. A huge weight. The sword of legend crashed against her Crescent Rose. It hurt. It was a wonder that lone strike didn't send her flying, and, for a moment, she had believed that the force behind the attack would have shattered it. But it didn't. She could still kept on fighting. She had to kept on fighting.

It pushed her back, and all she could do was barely dodge, wave or parry its ferocious attacks. She was going to be overwhelmed and killed soon if things continued like this. No, it was a wonder she had lasted that long already. It had greater speed and strength. So, she made a desperate gamble.

She tried to control the flow of battle by leaving fatal openings. She didn't have a read on her opponents fighting style, but she had enough battle experience to kept it up. Moreover, buying time like this meant her Aura would have time to recover. Even if it only allowed her to take one single hit unscathed, that was good enough. What else would she expect when facing a Heroic Spirit?

A hit in the side. Her regrowing Aura, which had almost broke, shattered in that instant. The invisible sword cut through the shirt, and her flesh, dragging a ragged line. If she had moved even a second slower, the blade would have cut her in two. She gritted her teeth. Screaming to ward off the pain, she swung the scythe at her enemy's exposed neck. It didn't parry her attack, but pushed it back. And she was pushed back along with her weapon. The gap between a human and a Heroic Spirit was made all the more obvious. And how she was now, with nothing to protect her but her own ability, every second carried even more of a risk of getting killed. Damn damn damn damn!

The invisible sword was an annoyance. That, perhaps, was the greatest danger to her in this battle. She had seen the shape and length of it once, when the copy born from Blake's Semblance encased it in ice. That's why she had been able to do dodge. She kept the shape and length always in her mind, and moved accordingly. But that didn't change that she would have an easier time if she would actually seen it. In the rush of battle, she might make a misstep she wouldn't have made if she had a visual of her opponent's weapon. But it couldn't be helped. All the illusions she had of killing this creature had vanished under the first blow, and now she was merely pitifully trying to stay alive.

This thing… she had to erase this one from this world, at the very least. The reason that Shirou got killed, that he was no more, that they would spend their time together anymore. Even though she could clearly remember his voice, his smile, the way he talked, the things he said and the warmness that would grow in her chest every time he looked at her… Never again. She wouldn't experience any of it ever again. So, she had to kill it. She had to kill it for that sin, and that woman, too, for ordering his death.

She was pushed back. With that single strike, that single lucky strike, she was send flying like a rag doll. She hit the wall. It cracked, and she almost went through it. She gasped for breath, and even that hurt. She slid down the wall limply, like a doll with its strings cut. Where did all her strength go? It seemed like a fleeting illusion. She tried to stand up on her shaky legs.

"I'll kill you!" she screamed even though she knew she shouldn't, even though she knew damn well it was only a useless excess. She faltered and nearly fell, but somehow managed to straighten herself. "Damn you, I'll kill you! I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll kill you!"

Who was she kidding? She barely had the strength to kept her body upright. Even an Ursa would have feasted on her without any effort, as she was now. Still, she defiantly held her opponent's gaze, without even a sign of fear or backing down. Only pure hatred. Perhaps that made it hesitate.

"What grudge do you bear against me?" it said. It didn't know. Of course it didn't. That woman wouldn't have told this thing unimportant things like how had she had acquired its catalyst. It made her even more pissed off.

"All right." she closed her eyes, and held her head high. It was the only salvation left for her and, more than that, she didn't care about the consequences. The World. That would be her life-line. "Let me make a contract. I shall give you..."

" _Trace On_." she froze. Those words. She had heard those words once before, just once. Every single thing about that accident had been burned in her mind. Shirou had said that when reproducing Crescent Rose for the second time. Her heat leaped up to her throat, and the tears fell freely. She opened her eyes, and…

A barrage of swords went whirling past her head. The Heroic Spirit, who until now had barely reacted to their attacks, was forced on the defensive. It jumped back. But not only that. It had to use the invisible sword in its attack to deflect the swords shoot at it to take its head off. One very nearly did it. One of those swords drew a ragged line on her right shoulder, another buried itself in its armor but didn't manage to penetrate to the skin, and another cut its cheek, leaving a bleeding wound. But otherwise, she emerged unscathed for the hail of swords. In its retreat, it very nearly returned to its early position at the center of the basement. Surrounding it were the numerous swords, buried it in the ground.

A flash of red. Ruby saw a red knight step in front of her, his hands clenched. His hair was white, he was taller and older, and even his skin tone was different from him. She also could clearly felt that the man in front of her was a being of the same nature as that thing. A Heroic Spirit. So he couldn't be Shirou. But still. That Aria. And, more that, she felt from the bottom of her heart that he was Shirou.

It was unmistakable.


	26. Oath

**Chapter Twenty Six**

"You..." it said, and gripping its invisible sword more tightly. "Who are you? No hero could have that many Noble Phantasm's."

"That's true." he simply answered. That… his voice sounded like him. "But I'm not a hero, after all, so it isn't that strange. What's strange is was going here. I'm not surprised you would participate in something like this, and I can't condemn you for it. Sacrificing the minority to save the majority is a doctrine I have followed for long, and I will have to kept on following, so it would be hypocritical of me. However, I don't understand what that woman would have show you to make you accept this carnage, Arturia."

"You..." its eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?"

"Because I know you, of course. Don't ask for something so obvious. If you worry about me knowing your name when you can't even guess as to mine, then don't worry, I tell you if you want. Though, as I said, I'm not a proper hero, so it won't be of much use to you."

"It doesn't matter. I wouldn't never accept such a thing from an enemy." it said. "Step aside. You know that sometimes is needed to sacrifice the few to save the many, so step aside. Vale's council doesn't want peace. The only way to stop them is by taking over."

"Really?" he gave a sardonic little chuckle. "Well, its probably the truth. Humans are really shortsighted, after all, and those in power are out of touch with the real world even more..."

"Then..."

"But sorry, I don't care. Ruby is off limit's." she blushed. "If you insist on this, Arturia, then I won't hold back, even against you."

Twin steel swords appeared in his clenched hands. Black and white. The Yin Symbol was engraved on the black sword, and the Yang symbol was engraved on the white sword. She didn't know much about Japanese mythology, so she didn't have a clue as to the name of those Noble Phantasm's.

"Shirou..." she didn't know what to say. But she didn't have to, either.

" _I'm the bone of my sword_."

His voice served as the signal. It exploded into motion. The red knight kicked the ground, and dashed towards the charging blue knight with amazing speed. They clashed. For a moment, she forgot how to breath. Somehow, their battle was mesmerizing. Her stupor only lasted an instant, but even she had to admit that them, both of them, were at a completely different level. Now that her head was clear, she fully acknowledged that even trying to survive a fight against that blue knight had been foolish.

She fell to her knees, a sudden dizziness assaulting her. She groaned. It hurt, it hurt so much. Two times. The invisible sword had only got her two times, and she felt a hellish pain all over her whole body, as if her organs had been ground into paste. Still, she didn't take her eyes off the fight going on right in front of her.

" _Unknown to death, nor know to life_." its attack grew fiercer, but by then, it was already too late. " _Unlimited Blade Works_."

Right in front of her eyes, everything broke and everything reformed. Fire ran across the basement, drawing a boundary line. What remains is a desolate land. The burning fire and the turning cogwheels. A graveyard of swords, extending to the horizon of this desert.. And the lone red knight, reigning at the center of this kingdom of rumble. A Reality Marble. This must be his one and true Noble Phantasm.

More swords flew. But not towards the blue knight, but towards her friends. The swords enveloped them, creating a defense. The red knight took a step forward, as if goading the enemy in front of him. The blue knight, Arturia, raised its invisible sword above its head. Then, what was hiding it came unwrapped. Raising swirls of magical energy. What was revealed in the end was an awe inspiring blade, pure crystallized power. Could he stand against such a thing?

"Ex…!" The red knight extended his right arm towards the enemy, and gripping it with his left. "Calibur!"

"Rho Aius!" he screamed.

A shield materialized in front of him. Seven flower petals, forming a shield. The barrage of power from Excalibur hit the shield, shattering the first petal in an instant. At that moment, the red knight grimaced. Wounds appeared on his body. She understood… the shield was he himself. As the petals were destroyed, his body was damaged. She felt her heart twist. Would she see it again? Would she see Shirou dying in front of her eyes again?

The next three petals were also scattered. His read cloak tore, and more wounds appeared. Some bleed badly. But that was all. Not even one more petal was taken out. The light of Excalibur died in the same instant the fourth petal was broken, and the red knight dispelled the projected Rho Aius. The opponent had clearly planned to finish the match right there and there, but the red knight wasn't much worse for the wear. Before she even realized it, the twin steel swords were back in his hands.

" _Divine skill, flawless and firm_." he charged the blades to the brink with magical energy, and threw them. Targeting the enemy's neck. The two blades drew an arch, and intersected right on the enemy. They were fast, very fast, almost too fast. But the enemy repelled them like nothing, and charged at the now unharmed red knight. He charged. He projected them again, and intercept the attack that was about to take his neck.

Arturia was ready to unleash a fatal attack, but…

" _Strength moves mountains_."

A surprise attack came at her from an unexpected direction. She managed to blow, but he took advantage of that opening to drive Kanshou into her… no, it was destroyed as well and the prana that had made it scattered like glass.

" _Blade cuts water_." but that didn't matter. No, more than that. It was just how he expected. He knew the enemy, and he knew her fighting style, so it all entered within his expectations. Of course. At that moment, she understood. This wasn't a special attack or anything like that. It was only using the magnetic properties of the swords to steadily break down the opponent's defense, and set himself the perfect opportunity for a certain kill strike. Well, one thing was special. The chant. With each line the properties of the swords got reinforced even more. But it didn't change that it wasn't anything flashy, like Excalibur's holy light. It was simple magic, cunning and the technique to use both in the best way possible.

By blocking the final attack, the enemy had left herself open.

The red knight projected once again, and slashed at her defenseless body from both sides. It was over. That single, flawless attack ended it all. Arturia was still in the world, but only barely. She was reduced to trying to kept her disappearing body together. Shirou finished her off without blinking. For an instant, his expression was clouded with agony. He almost fell down. The Reality Marble, the infinite creation of swords, crumbled away. What was left was the dusty basement. With Shirou's world, the swords acting as a shield for her friends and her sister also disappeared. He let go of the swords. Before they hit the ground, they disappeared without leaving a trance.

Ruby ran to him, suddenly nervous. Even moving a little hurt, so running was agony. But she felt like she wouldn't never see him ever again if she didn't run to him now. His red coat was moving in the slightly breeze, and he was staring forward without moving, his face set in a stern expression. Her heart had gone into overdrive, and she was barely capable of breathing.

"S-shirou!" what could she even say? Damn.

* * *

EMIYA stared ahead, feeling that the connection that bound him to this world had been cut off. So his Master was dead. What a shame. He didn't care for the man himself, but he was good people and held an unnaturally strong power. But it was what it was. Ozpin had been consumed by the very method he used to grow stronger. His death had been guaranteed since he had started that whole mess, so it couldn't be helped. He had been already death when he summoned him, so regretting his death was useless. Even then, he realized things would end this way.

"S-shirou!" that girl's voice.

He turned towards her, with a relaxed smile. He wasn't pretending. He merely felt happy from the bottom of his heart. She was on the verge of tears, her hands clasped at her chest, as in prayer. What shame. This indeed, was a shame. The Emiya Shirou of this world was gone, and there was nothing he could do to reverse it. But at least, he would have liked if this girl had been able to be happy. He had done so much for his own self. Things he didn't even know about.

What did he tell him, back then? To drown in his ideals and die. That his life was a false life. And he had given him an answer. That even if his ideals were borrowed, even if it was an impossible ideal, an unreachable utopia, the wish himself was real. That there's no justice, that's deads are meaningless… Emiya Shirou couldn't accept those words. And he, himself, even beyond his end, couldn't.

This girl. What about had they smiled together, laughed together, cried together? What had they had struggled for, the possibilities they had grasped, the failures they had experience and how they held each other together and stood up at the next fight? The discarded wished. The hopes that had been dropped. What had been their life together? He didn't know. What did the future hold for this girl in front of him, who had made Emiya Shirou happy? He didn't know.

"Hey," he idly answered, his voice tinged with warmness, as if he was his old self. "Its good to meet you."

* * *

"Ah..." Ruby looked down. "Thank you."

Thank you? What was wrong with her? He was in front of her again, and those were the words she said. She knew he wasn't him, though without a doubt he was also Emiya Shirou. But still, it was him. She should have said something else. Something more meaningful. Emiya Shirou had given her many things, and she hadn't been able to repay some of them. So, even if it was something small, she though this was her chance to thank him for what he had given her. But, there was nothing. No words could come out of her mouth. She hadn't even expected to able to say what little she had said.

Because, deep down within herself, she feared that if she said a single word this would vanish like a convenient fantasy.

"No, thank you. You have done much for Emiya Shirou. I can't repay you at all, and I only know a few things. But thanks. He was able to obtain happiness because you were there with him, for him… so never forget that. Kept that in your heart. I wish you will be able to obtain normal happiness again, and that would can move past what happened. I'm not telling you to forget. I couldn't forget something like that. But, I want you to live. He also wants him too, of course."

She swallowed. Tears stung in the corner of her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of him, and less so when he had just said that, but she couldn't stop herself. She knew what those words meant, even though he hadn't said in yet. Those words were words of farewell.

"I will be gone soon. My Master, Ozpin, as died. So my connection with this world is gone already. If I try, I would last a few days even without that. But there's no place for me here, and I will probably be needed in some other place."

"Form… Form a contract with me. _Please_." she started crying.

"I can't do that. Well, I couldn't, but there's no meaning or reason to that. The Emiya Shirou you loved is already dead. Don't cling to me because I'm him to maintain your happiness. You would do a disservice both to yourself, and to him. Look… things lost will never return. A death is painful, but it also leaves behind bright memories. Ruby… kept him alive in your heart, and be happy."

Ruby raised her head again. Just in time. The red knight disappeared in front of her, as if melting into the blackness of the basement. She watched. She watched until there wasn't even a trace of him, until she couldn't even felt him. She closed her eyes. For a moment, and then opened them again. She put those memories close to her heart, even the painful things.

Staring at the space where he had been a moment before, she wished to never forget any of it, and for it to never fade away.


	27. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

This isn't a story heard from someone, but rather a small prayer directed at the stars in the sky.

What a long journey. The trials, the ideals pursued, the times were possibilities became reality. Painful memories, bright memories. Even that was only the beginning. After the attack at Beacon, Vale was left to pick up the pieces. Yang survived the stab wound from Excalibur, but only barely. And the girls grew up to become true Huntress. Even with Ozpin dead, they aided the fight against the White Fang from the shadows.

Four years. It was a long fight, but it came to an end on that day. After they were capable of overturning the attack of Beacon, the White Fang's forces were greatly reduced. But that didn't end the hatred of the Faunus. Attacking their warehouses, camps, settlements, the place of their recruitment meetings, and the underground complexes they had. They had be crippled, but it was no over. And even then, they were growing. It wasn't easy, and they didn't make any over movements, so it was really dragged down. The point wasn't that they were a great threat still, but if they didn't end it, they would grow back to their full strength and eventually even beyond.

Vale couldn't afford that.

Remnant couldn't afford that.

They destroyed all opposition. They killed if they had to kill, which was most of the time. Only when it was clear that it was all hopeless did the surviving soldiers surrender, and allowed themselves to be arrested. The leader of the White Fang, Adam Taurus was captured and executed, and that provided the catalyst for the group finally crumbling down. Cinder was also captured and executed publicly, as the master mind behind the two tragedies of four years ago. She died laughing. It wasn't a crazy laugh, but a placid little laugh, as if everything had turned up like she wanted.

Ozpin's basement was never discovered. As for his death, there were reports that he had been puking black blood, almost like a Grimm's blood, and had been begging for somebody to kill him in the middle of the battle. Glynda had been nearby, and she had taken care of that task. Nobody ever knew why he turned up that way, and the rumors and such were quickly silenced. However, Ruby couldn't never forget such a thing.

So after four years, Remnant settled back into an uneasy peace.

* * *

The red knight had told her to kept Shirou alive him her heart, and be happy. And she had done it. The life of a Huntress was scary, painful and you always lost more things that you gained. And what was gained was often fleeting things. But still, she felt happy for just simply being alive. Her friends were with her, fighting besides, and each at every one of them were happy too, so there was little to regret.

She couldn't lie. She wondered often. When they were talking idly about meaningless things, when they were going out to shop, when they were playing around like they still were kids. Most of the time, she wondered how happy would it be if he was there with them too. But still, It didn't change that she was happy. No matter how many times she failed, there would be a next time and she knew that many, many people could and would have died without her help. And in the end of the day, she had her friends. So her life was good.

Besides. Whenever he was, he surely would want to see her happy, smiling and being happy when looking back occasionally.

* * *

She couldn't remember his voice. It had been a long time since then, ten years, and they hadn't had even a whole year together, so it was only natural. But when she found herself thinking those simple words, she felt as it the weight world itself was pushing her down. She shouldn't have forgot his voice. She shouldn't have forgot anything about him, let alone his voice. But details that once held stark clarity had slipped away between her fingers.

She remembered that she had very happy back then, that she had thought they were the happiest days of her whole life. She remembered how his smile made him felt, and some of things he said to her and she said to him, and the simple sensation of his warmness as he carried her in his arms to the bed on the night after the excursion to the Forever Fall Forest. She remembered what he said to her back then, how happy she had felt because of having clasping her hand as she just vented off, without fear of being locked at as pitiful or the guilt that would come with burdening her sister with that kind of knowledge, which was the only one she had felt like she could talk about that with.

She remembered all of that, but the details were fading. And all those normal, daily life moments, those irreplaceable memories of the days which blend into each other yet weren't quite the same, disappeared in the blur of time. It hurt. It hurt, because it made her painfully aware that each of them were irreplaceable moments she couldn't never return to… and that she couldn't even remember them now.

But even that reaffirmed the happiness she felt right now. Because, she told them about those feelings instead of keeping them locked away and try to dealt with by herself. They talked about it carefully, and… somehow, it worked. The pain didn't go away. It wouldn't go away as long as the knowledge of not remembering such things existed, and it wouldn't never heal. But… it wasn't that the hole in her heart had been mended, but that she once again felt like she could live with it.

* * *

Ruby had walked for a very, very long time, struggling with the friction between ideal and reality. For the sake of the love he held for Emiya Kiritsugu, who had saved him and gave him a reason to live where he had nothing. For the sake of the love she had for him, who threw his ideal away to try to save her. Her journey has never contained a finishing line, and has never yielded any results. Where should she go, what should she do, in order to stop her footsteps? The answer was set to be finish line since the start.

Anyways, she was filled with scars. There were people who died in pain. There were people who gave their lives to save others. There were people who died right in front of without her being able to do anything. Still, no matter how many times she failed, she believed there would be a next time if she didn't betray herself. Because, she knew there were people who she had helped. Because, if she gave up people who she could have helped could die. But most of all, because that dream of his wasn't a mistake. She liked to make it come true for her own sake just as much as for his sake.

Yes, it had be a long, long journey.

Now, it was coming to an end. She knew she wouldn't never have a long life, so she wasn't angry or in denial at all. The wound that she had received now would end her before her Aura recovered. That was all there was to it. She closed her eyes. The pain was only a dull ache now. She felt… strangely calm. Almost relaxed, really. She was a Huntress. It was only natural that her life would end this way. Her only regret was about the people she was going to leave behind, but she couldn't do anything about that. Yang… Yang would be shattered, once again, but she would still have Weiss and Blake. She would still be happy, even without her. They all could.

Well, the truth was that she had another regret. If she had lived longer, she would have helped even more people. But that couldn't be helped, either. Oh, well. Almost idly, she wondered if that was her mother had been feeling before she came to ruin it all. Maybe. She didn't know. She couldn't know. But she liked to believe that, at least. She opened her eyes again, and…

For an instant, her breathing stopped. There. Right there, in front of her very eyes. All thoughts ground to a halt, and even though she had been so calm before, now she had trouble breathing. She forced herself to her knees, and with an effort, she managed to stand up on her shaky legs. Blood was pouring from her stomach. Her right arm was broken, so she held it with her left. She dragged her body forward.

The boy, just like back then, was waving his hand at her at her from the top of the hill. In the sky, burning fire and turning cogwheels.

Ruby smiled.

Relaying on the sounds of the swords echoing far away, the girl heads towards the deserted plains.


End file.
